Ice cold soul
by Nomanisan Island
Summary: She lost her village. She lost her villagers. She lost all hope and turned to becoming a Rounin. When Sakura is captured to serve Hiten, he is astonished at the fact that she is unafraid of him; and feels a strange attraction to her. R&R!
1. Going nowhere

**(Going nowhere)**

The winds that ran through Sakura's short, black locks weren't enough to soothe her pain and misery. Losing her village was bad enough as it was, losing her family and villagers was worse; but now it had started to rain.

It was thunder and lightening that she had such passionate hatred towards. Of course, she had always thought that it was soothing to the soul; but now she wasn't so sure of it anymore.

It was thunder and lightening that had brought her despair. It had come with a dark aura of menace and had left with her village, her fellow villagers' lives and her childhood memories.

In fact, the only thing that it hadn't whisked away was the shikon jewel shard that her sister used to protect. The warmness of it was the only thing that brought her calmness, for she couldn't stop thinking;

'Why me? Why now? What did I do to the gods to receive such misery?'

Even through all this, it would have been astonishing for anyone that Sakura never shed a tear. The last time she had cried was when her brother was killed in the war and his body came back wrapped in linens.

His perfect complexion of tanned skin, muscular body and his long, raven braided hair that the village girls swooned over; was all burnt and hideously traumatized.

Her mother had cried.

Her brother's fiance had wept and then ended her sadness with a dagger.

Her? A blank emptiness took over her sorrow. For a while she had sat there in front of the ash jar that contained her brother's ashes after the cremation.

_"Are you dead?"_ she had whispered. _"Are you my brother who had loved everyone so much, now here lifeless? Burnt to ashes? Please...I miss you..."_

That was when sadness took its place in her soul and she had wept. Other than that, she had never cried; Even when her village was burnt.

What was the use of crying?

Was her crying going to bring them back to life?

Even so, would life be the same again?

No.

That was her thoughts; all in all, Sakura was a cold person.

* * *

"Hiten an-chan," the reptilian demon bellowed while walking alongside his brother. "Is something bothering you? You look very depressed even after our hunt."

Throwing down a wild boar that they had caught at the last minute, the elder thunder brother stripped himself of his bloody armor and put on a grim expression. Flashing his crimson eyes he called to Manten.

"I'm still not satisfied." He said. "And it's not because of the measly hunt that bothers me."

"Do you want me to capture a maiden for you, an-chan?" Manten quickly said, realizing too quickly his brother's needs and wants. "If you wish, I could capture a human female for you right at this moment."

Saying nothing, Hiten scowled and stomped into his room. Before seeing Manten leaving he told him quietly,

"Get a girl that's somewhat amusing to you, Manten." He said. "It can be quite boring with the same kinds that lounge about."

"Aye." Manten said and hurried out the house.

* * *

Something wasn't right about Hiten today, Manten pondered to himself.

If it's not the leek patties that he screwed up on making for that day's breakfast, then it was either the hunt wasn't satisfying; or that his brother needed a girl to screw around with again.

Usually, it was a girl that he needed to screw around with. Then after the screwing around was finished, the girl would serve as a special delicacy that filled them both.

But this time his an-chan wanted something special, something that was different as the other women; and Manten wondered what.

Just then, he picked up a scent of a young girl and rushed over to the spot.

* * *

Tracing the veins of the blood red leaf that was in her hand, Sakura slowly started to rip it apart with her fingers.

Two weeks had passed since she had been traveling, and her bare feet were bloody and roughed up. Her extra pair of shoes were worn out from all the travelling and she couldn't afford to buy new ones. The smoothness of her feet were gone, but a strange texture had replaced it.

Yet she didn't complain even to herself.

A gust of wind was what made her look up into the heavens. Sakura spotted a faint outline of a grey cloud floating above and wondered why such a grey cloud was wandering about on such a peaceful day.

"Who goes there?" she heard a deep voice bellow. "A fair maiden, is it not?"

"What the..." Sakura muttered, but she never got to finish what she was saying. She looked up at the cloud in horror and saw a demon, one of those in which made villagers running for their lives.

This was no ordinary demon, though; this was a thunder demon. It was then she dared to yell back.

"Who the hell are you?" The demon merely snickered and introduced himself.

"Why, I am Manten; the younger of the two thunder brothers, woman." He said in his usual monotone voice. "My elder is in need of a female acquaintance, and you shall serve well as I see you are fully matured."

Sakura glared at him and grabbed tightly onto her little baggage. If this was a thief, she had nothing to give other than the small riceballs, her extra set of clothes, and her sword. But this demon didn't want that, he wanted her.

"I'm not going with you." She blankly said out loud.

"But yet you are, fair maiden." Manten said. "I will drag you with me if I have to."

And that was just what he tried to do. He whooshed past Sakura and clutched her by his side, and ascended into the skies soon after.

Taking a glimpse of the small, now miniature scenery the girl screamed as loud as she could; Manten glared at her with his little beady eyes as if he wanted to strangle her instead of carrying her safe and out of harm's way, but he knew Hiten would be furious with him if he did so.

So carry her back to their lair he did.

* * *

_Okay, it's either I'm really high on sugar today or I'm just sane and I'm trying to write a good Hiten story. I just love that thunder boy, he's so rebellious! Ahh!! And he cares about his brother, too...and that's just so sweet!_

_Yes, I'm working on two major stories; this one and my other Rin x Sesshomaru story. _

_No, I haven't abandoned it...What are you people thinking? I'll update both stories when the time comes. And you 'Drowning petals' fans, if I don't update as quickly now please forgive me...In the moment, you can read this one; I don't know if it'll be good enough or not, but just tell me what you think...OK? _

_Love you all, Muah!!_


	2. The thunder brothers

**(The thunder brothers)**

"Here we are, woman." Manten said, lowering himself onto a cliffy rock-embedded home. When they were close to the ground, Manten summoned the cloud back into his palm with a snap of his fingers as Sakura fell about a foot or two. Quickly standing up from the cold rocks she brushed the dirt off of her and looked up at the enormous house of the thunder brothers.

It was beyond anything she had ever seen; the sturdy walls itself seemed as if they were about to threaten anyone who would dare to enter without permission, and the entire design of it seemed very elaborate.

'Okay...why the hell do they have such a nice house on this cliff?' was the first thing that Sakura thought of. But no worries, she thought. She was quite skilled with her sword and was sure that she could fend off...

Oh, yeah. She forgot.

They were the 'almighty' demons she was encountering, so she knew she had no chance whatsoever. Looking up at the massive demon that was now picking the tiny lock with his huge hands, she was sort of thankful that Manten didn't eat her right at the spot.

So many thoughts shot in and out of her head it was almost getting too confusing. This elder demon called Hiten wanted her for a 'female acquaintance.' She desperately hoped that this Hiten person was at least a tad bit nicer than how this demon was treating her.

Would she get out of here alive? Would she be boiled in a pot full of water?

"Nooo!!!" Sakura screamed, suddenly grabbing Manten's attention. With a heave he slung her over his shoulders and walked into the palace-like home and started talking to her of what they would do to her.

"First I'll let Hiten an-chan have some fun with you, then we'll torture you, then we'll boil you in a huge pot full of water..."

"So you ARE going to boil me!!" the girl screamed and pounded furiously on Manten's back; not that it mattered to him in any way. She might have well just tickled his feet for all it did to him. "Let me down!" she commanded.

"Then I'll boil your flesh down and rub the ointment onto my head." He finished, leaving Sakura in a state of shock and horror.

* * *

Just then from the far end of the corridor, a very masculine voice rang throughout. 

"Back so soon, Manten?" the voice echoed. "I didn't expect you to return until after a few more hours. Where is the female?"

Manten chuckled, put Sakura to her feet and shoved her violently towards the sliding door. "Get in there, you wretch of a girl." Manten ordered with a flash in his raven, beady eyes. "Hiten is waiting for you, and don't you dare escape."

"I won't." Sakura said and walked down the hallway looking unafraid.

Well, only looking unafraid; in the inside she wanted to dart out of this creepy house.What kind of a palace-like home had human skulls and bones for decorations, was filled with a dark aurora and had two woman-eating demons living together?

For now it seemed like the best choice to do as Manten said, or she could be finding herself limbless or headless. Taking a deep breath Sakura slid open the sliding door and walked in hesitantly. Just then, the same voice called to her.

"Come here, you bitch." The voice said impatiently.

Saying nothing, Sakura set her bag down on the floor near the window and went in front of him; and was surprised to see that he looked like a human. He almost reminded her of her older brother killed in battle. The raven hair tied back into a silky braid, the tanned complexion and well muscled body were all characteristics of what a normal human would have.

"Are you a human?" she asked; but soon regretted asking when she saw his closed eyes open, revealing bloodshot crimson eyes.

Hiten sat up from his laid back pose and with a single jerk of her wrist, pulled her down in front of him. He stared at her intensely and smirked.

"Do I look like a human to you?" he said in a cold voice and pulled the strands of his hair back that covered his delicate, pointed ears. Sakura felt a cold shiver run along her spine as he continued to stare into her eyes as if he wanted to burn them right through.

It seemed like a miracle for her when she found the courage to speak back to him. "What do you want with me?" she asked demandingly. "You must have a good reason to go out of your way to order your brother to bring me here."

Irritated as he could get, Hiten grabbed his precious Raigekijin; his slick lightening blade; and put it to the girl's neck. The intensity of his anger was beginning to show as Sakura felt a scorching heat lashing itself upon her body.

"Why do you ask so many questions, girl?" Hiten leered at her. "Why aren't you afraid? Why aren't you yelling and cowering in fear?"

Tears formed itself around the corners of her eyes and Sakura didn't dare allow them to spill over her cheeks, for she was afraid that would irritate her predator even more than he was at the moment. Instead, she dared to yell back at the thunder demon.

"I've been through more pain than you'll ever get in your lifetime, you unfeeling son of a bastard!" she yelled back at him.

If she would die, let it be, she thought; but not after restoring her pride before her life ended. "You probably didn't have your village destroyed by thunder and lightening, or had your beloved brother come home from the war in burial linens, or had to walk for a thousand paces without any shoes on, so there!"

Sakura's "So there" served as another reason for Hiten to get irritated with her. Not only did it serve as a rebellious way to reply, to him the tone of her voice was pouring with defiance. Hiten slightly let go of her arm but yet kept a strong grip on it.

'Who the hell does she think she is?' he thought to himself and thus his anger surged out of nowhere.

"Manten!" the angered thunder demon yelled with such power that the dust from the ceiling fell to the cold floor. "Get over here!"

"Aye, brother." Sakura heard Manten say and the thudding of his footsteps coming closer and closer to the room. Her figure of fear stepped through the door, his arms crossed tightly as Hiten thrust the girl to the ground.

"Lock her in the room next to mine until she repents." He commanded as Manten pulled her back up forcefully by the wrist. "Don't you let the bitch escape, or I'll put matters into my own hands."

* * *

_Oh my god! Oneesan no Miroku houshi (gasps) reviewed my story...Sob! I'm soo happy! I loved your Hiten fic, I don't think mine can even match up to it...I have to admit that there are a few problems with my fic and the stuff I write in it. You guys have to understand that it's really hard._

_Like, I have to make sure that nothing repetitive goes into my story. If it does, not only will a thousand reviewers pummel me with rocks, I'll probably go down to the rock-bottom level. I understand that I shouldn't make anything repetitive in my story that goes in Oneesan's (Can I call you that? ) story. _

_I'm reading Raiden no ai, like, thousands of times just to get a good idea. So all you people wish me luck! I know my fic won't be as good as Oneesan's, but I want my Hiten fic to be as unique as it can get. Thanks for your support!_

_(Looks around) Now if only I can get a good idea for the next chapter..._


	3. Attempt to escape

**(Attempt to escape)**

One. A single piece of a dust bunny fell from the dark ceiling.

Two. Another piece of a dust bunny fell onto her lap.

Three. Another piece of the dust bunny fell onto her bag and Sakura brushed it away; and she had to admit now that after counting the dust bunnies that fell and losing track of them was getting quite annoying and boring.

"I guess he wasn't kidding when he said he wouldn't give me food..." Sakura muttered tiredly to herself as the sunlight moved its way out from a bit where it had left off. It was getting really painful now; and the small room smelled like crap.

She reviewed of what had happened to her since yesterday. She had been resting her legs for awhile when Manten had come along and kidnapped her. Then she was referred as 'wretch' by Manten and 'bitch' by Hiten. Not that either one was worse, but still...

One side of her thought that Hiten was pretty cute for a demon, but then she would remember that he wanted to rape her, then eat her, then give her leftovers to Manten for his hair potion; and she would hate him all over again. But still...

She was thankful that he didn't eat her or rape her, because that gave her the time to think to herself. Well, that is, if neither of them knew how to read people's minds, that was. That would have been horrifying.

* * *

"That bitch..." Hiten grumbled to himself and made sure that Manten heard. "She should be banging on the door by now; we didn't give her three meals since last night!"

"Aye, an-chan." Manten replied as he gazed at his brother polishing the Raigekijin to its usual perfection. "That lass sure is a stubborn one, most women would have begged you for mercy by now."

"Manten..."

"Yes?"

"Don't you think it's getting too quiet in there?" Hiten suggested.

Manten scratched his head and shrugged. "No, I don't really think so. Maybe the girl is sleeping or something, an-chan." He said. "Maybe we should check it out."

Setting down the thunder pike aside with the rag on the wooden table, Hiten stood up first and beckoned Manten to come with him. He clenched his fists so tight that Manten could see the faint outlines of the veins that throbbed. Stopping himself from speaking another word, Manten followed suit.

* * *

The sunlight was almost all gone from the dingy room, leaving Sakura in semi-darkness sleeping on the mangy straw mattress that was the only piece of furniture that was given to her. Her bag was half opened, and now the only items that remained in it were the sword and her clothes.

She woke up with a sudden jerk as she heard the heavy lock opening, creaking by its hinges as it did so. Not at all surprised to see the devastating duo standing by the doorway, Sakura laid her head back down. And of course, to Hiten this was yet another sign of ignorance.

"Having fun?" he said sarcastically.

"Of course, other than not receiving any food." She said. "I'm fine. Leave me to starve."

Hiten bounded across the room in a single step and signaled Manten to go away as Sakura didn't budge from her current spot. He jerked her into a sitting position as her eyes showed no fear.

"I don't understand you." He simply said.

"Well, I don't understand you either." The young girl said back. "Why won't you kill me and get it over with?"

This served as an interesting turn of tables for the thunder brother. Cocking an eyebrow, he explained to her in his deadly but masculine voice. "I just figured that it would make it interesting if you were driven to insanity before I kill you, woman. Killing you off wouldn't be exciting, now would it?"

"You try me." Sakura shot back at him and this, once again, drove Hiten to his irritation again. To her, it was just one of those temper tantrums that a young child would throw; not a good enough excuse for a fully grown teenage demon who was upset that a girl was talking back to him.

"Now listen to me carefully, you bitch." Hiten said, slamming her next to no gently into the wall. It was then he saw-heard a shikon shard fling out of the girl's chest pocket due to such force. His face turned from a surge of anger to an amused expression in a nanosecond.

"Well, now what's this?" he said. "One of those Shikon jewel shards, is it not?"

Sakura's blood drained from her face as she saw Hiten reaching out for it. Not aware of the consequences, she slapped his hand down flat to the ground.

"It's mine." She hissed.

"So?" Hiten hissed back at her.

"I said it's mine..."

"Mine now." he said, shoving her away and taking the shard from her. "So you do prove yourself as being useful, bitch. I won't be killing you for awhile."

Sakura grit her teeth, but there was nothing she could do at the moment. So instead, she called Hiten again as she got a good idea for her escape plan.

"Hey..."

"What now?" A pissed thunder demon huffed impatiently. He obviously wanted to try his shikon jewel shard out as fast as he could, and the person that he took it from was on the least of his mind.

"Can I have a bucket of water?" Sakura begged. "Please?"

* * *

Her hands turned an ugly shade of brown as she worked on the wall silently throughout the night. Dipping her hand into the bucket of water that Hiten had gotten her as quickly as he could, she rubbed her wet hand onto the paper embalmed wall and it certainly was showing progress.

A faint layer of the mud wall peeped out from beneath and now her hands were getting dirty, but she didn't care.

Sakura took out her sword and plunged it deep into the mud wall. After a few wriggling, the sword worked its way through the barrier and she knew that it had made its way to the other open side.

A rustling made her twitch nervously, and holding her breath Sakura begged to the heavens that it wasn't Hiten or Manten.

Oh, if they found out...

Never mind Manten, Hiten would be pure livid at her for sure. He had already tried to rape her for his own satisfaction; Manten said that they would have eaten her. But then Sakura rearranged her thoughts.

If she stayed, she'd get eaten/raped/whatever.

If she left, she'd get tortured/eaten/raped/or all of the above.

But still she would have a good chance of escaping, right?

As soon as she had dug a hole only big enough for her small frame, she reached out for her bag to carry alongside herself. Just then she heard quick footsteps coming down the corridor. Even before she could react the sliding door busted open, revealing an aloof thunder demon.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Hiten said quietly; so quietly, that it was almost scary.

* * *

_Before I uploaded this chapter I had quite a writer's block...I just didn't remember what to write for the next chapter! Turns out that it was good I forgot, 'cuz I plotted a whole different...erm, plot...and it turns out that I like this one better._

_So what if I don't get a lot of reviews? I just want people to enjoy it even if they don't review. I mean, that's the whole point of fanfiction, right? But it wouldn't hurt to reivew, people...I have no idea whether you guys are enjoying this story or not..._

_To those who are enjoying it though, I'll keep writing!_


	4. Locked in his room

**(Locked in his room)**

Hiten slammed his fist down onto the hard skull that lay on the table as it gave way and cracked open. At the moment, that was on the least of his mind.

'That bitch!' he thought to himself angrily. 'Stubborn little girl, why won't she beg me for her own sanctuary? She knows she will die any day I decide on, so why?'

This Sakura girl was a new one for him. All the various women that he had encountered, let it be human or demon, had not been able to withstand the mental torture that he and Manten had put them into a state of. Their complexions were to be swooned over, and yet they gave up their purity in exchange for liberty.

Not that it was he who kept his promises to them, though.

But this girl...

This grungy, scar-filled girl named Sakura...

She just wasn't giving into him. She refused to speak to him two sentences and was at the point of ignoring him. It didn't matter whether he got his satisfaction or not, he just wanted power over the weak; and at the moment, she was the weak.

But why wasn't she giving in?

"Grrr...Manten!" Hiten yelled out of frustration. It only took a few moments for Manten to enter the room where he was at and was ready to bend to his an-chan's every other whim.

"Go get me a demon girl, Manten." Hiten said. "Make sure that she is willing to satisfy me, too."

* * *

Sakura, after finally giving up on how many dust bunnies fell from Hiten's room ceiling, decided to go and take a small walk around his room. As big as the house was, this very room was no exception to that. 

The floorbed seemed very hard as it could get, and it was no better than the straw mattress that she was given to sleep on the other day. Still she had gotten no food at all, and she was seriously getting hungry now that she felt she could chew her own tongue off.

The wallpaper was a faded brownish beige, so Sakura guessed that this was a pretty old house that the brothers lived in. One thing that she was really curious about was...

Where were their parents?

Either they're dead or they're not around, she decided. If only there was a portrait of them around here somewhere, she would know exactly what it took for them to have such a strange set of children.

"Maybe they're half brothers." She muttered under her breath. Picking up an ornament that resembled an ancient kabuki mask and putting it down, the girl's eyes flashed as she saw the same lightening blade that Hiten had used earlier in the week to threaten her out of pleading him for mercy.

She picked it up and was surprised at how light it was; she was predicting that it was really heavy, something that only demons could wield. If she could wield it with such easy force, then for Hiten this should be considered nothing. Sakura ran her fingers to the tip of the blade and brought it back, once in a while her eyes trailing to admire the sturdiness of it.

She wished for such a weapon, but it wasn't appropriate for 'young ladies' in her village to possess such a deadly and harmful weapon. The only reason she had her sword was because it was the last thing her brother had left her, and the elders had allowed her to keep it as a memento for him.

Drowning in the different thoughts she were thinking, Sakura didn't hear the approach of two footsteps coming to his room. She jumped about a foot in the air when the door slid open violently, dropping the Raigekijin with a clatter.

"What are you doing here?" Hiten demanded as he held the other figure tight, as a child would his precious blanket for the night. This demon lady, Sakura thought, seemed as if the gods had wielded her into perfection. Her eyelashes spread out like fans, olive green eyeshades were in place. A snake seemed to be replacing her top at the moment, but it certainly didn't seem like an ugly sight for a male.

And her complexion, so pale unlike Hiten's...and so graceful and curvy...

Hopefully unlike Hiten's. ;;

"You locked me in here." Sakura replied back. Hiten frowned and motioned for her to get out as soon as possible, and Sakura obeyed him almost too wordlessly without a fight.

It was clear to her that Hiten admired the demon lady, and therefore was about to rob her of her purity...if she was pure, anyway. But she seemed willing to do it, with her seductress-likeness. She wouldn't have been surprised if she turned out to be a willing prostitute for all she cared.

At the moment, Sakura felt a sharp pain in the palm of her hand. Looking down, she saw a bloody cut that she guessed, was caused when she dropped Hiten's Raigekijin. Deciding that she would have to treat herself, Sakura moved far away from the sliding door to Hiten's room and stepped into the storage to look for bandages.

* * *

With a creak of the rusty old hinge the thick door gave way and opened to reveal the things that she needed...and the things that she probably didn't expect to see in her lifetime. For aside the medicine chest and the drying herbs, there were barrels of human flesh; some bodies chopped and salted, others whole but lifeless.

Sakura thought of screaming, but bit her tongue as she pondered how mad it would make Hiten while he was making...um, love to that other prostitute girl. Trying not to barf at the sight, she instead thought of happy things...she found the bandages, right?

However, to be exact; these were young women just like her; and the stench was unbearable from what her senses told her. Grabbing the medicine box, Sakura shut the door and turned to find Manten coming back from his separate hunt. Noticing her, Manten spoke up.

"What were you doing, wretch?" he casually asked, opening the storage and throwing in two large tigers and a doe. "Were you snooping around the storage?"

She nodded her head yes. Manten smirked.

"You should be thankful you aren't like them." Manten said. "Hiten an-chan hates girly women, and if you were you would have been filled inside the empty barrel right next to the door." He finished and locked the door with a huge iron key. It was then he noticed the girl's open wound.

"Ouch." He said as Sakura tried to wrap her right hand with bandages with the aid of her left hand. And like most people, she wasn't a left-handed person; so it made it that much harder for her to bandage herself. Manten shoved his hand out at her as Sakura paused and stared.

"I'll do it for you." He bellowed. "Give me your hand."

* * *

_I love you guys...Oneesan, Kaze-sama, Touga-sama, and anyone else who's enjoying this story. Heehee! I'm glad you like this fic, and sorry I haven't been able to read some of your fics...But you'd understand the hardships of a 14 year old that's struggling with report cards and friends...The weekend is here, so I'm planning to rearrange my profile..._

_And maybe I'll put some adjustments and tag a couple of replies on your fics. Thank you guys!_


	5. Feelings beyond appearance

**(Feelings beyond appearance)**

"So you and Hiten _are_ blood brothers?" Sakura commented. Manten and she had been talking for a while now, and she was surprised that the thunder demon wasn't as hardheaded as she expected him to be. Actually, she had been surprised that he would even have offered his aid to heal her wound.

"Yes." Manten says, and the girl saw pain in his eyes that were full of misery. "Being the younger brother of an-chan certainly has its good things, but to me it's more of bad than good."

Sakura swallowed her green tea that Manten had prepared for her a while ago. She had to admit this was good green tea; If only it didn't have a secret recipe that included human body parts. Nonetheless, she nodded and Manten continued.

"Hiten an-chan was always popular with the women." He said miserably. "Even one-night prostitutes fall in love with him even if they were around him for about a couple of days or so, even human females swoon at his presence; But as for me..."

Manten knew that he didn't have to continue along with his pitiful story. Of course this girl knew, he thought to himself.

* * *

_Hiten an-chan is drop-dead gorgeous, I am hideous._

_He is brave, I am...sort of._

_He has the raven, silky hair that even the females envy of, and I...just don't, if you don't count the three picks on my bald scalp._

_Father loved him better, as did mother. I? Just another child in the family._

_And as for the family treasure, the lightening blade Raigekijin? Definitely went over to an-chan, no more words spoken._

_The blade..._

_that even the demon Lords coveted over..._

_was known to be passed down for at least thirty generations, always went over to the oldest male child. Well, if you don't count our female ancestors that kept good use of it once every few decades..._

_**'Social outcast'**_

_**'Hideous creature'**_

_**'Pitiful demon'**_

_Such as were the words that my mother overheard at demon Lord Gatherings about me. My mother, even though she loved an-chan better..._

_She would hold me throughout the night, thinking I was sleeping..._

_And hot tears of sadness...that her boy was unfortunately, resembling her and not his great demon father...would spill from her beady eyes._

_And I opened my slit eyes once in a while to find that Hiten an-chan was standing by the doorway with a tear streaming down his face. Not a sob, but silent crying to see his mother suffer so much..._

_And pity for his loving brother..._

_Life wasn't fair...but who said it was?_

* * *

"Oh, Manten..." Sakura gasped and hugged the thunder demon tightly around the waist, surprising the thunder demon at the same time. 

She knew what it was like to be a social outcast. Just because she had no interest in men or makeup or fancy clothing, her fellow friends had deserted her and she saw of her childhood playmates no more.

Her father and mother had died as did her brother. Ever since then, the villagers had treated her like...

crap.

That was the only word that came to her mind. They treated her like crap.

The boys made fun and rude remarks, calling her a female in disguise. The elders and village people thought of her as an odd, cursed girl who no man was fit for her profile.

No man was fit for her...

Thus she knew and understood Manten's pain of being ridiculed. And for once she thought of Manten; not as bad as she had thought. This intimidating demon had feelings beyond his appearance, and had feelings...just like any normal person.

Still crying with her arms around Manten, Sakura wiped away her tears and thanked him.

"Thank you." She whispered, and went outside the balcony to catch a breath of fresh air.

* * *

As the seductress adjusted her long pink dress, her snake slithered its long body along the wooden floor. The demon girl beckoned the snake over when she was ready and wrapped it around her slim shoulders. As she was about to leave, she turned to Hiten. 

"I like you." She said, throwing Hiten off guard.

"What?" he said almost too unsure of himself.

"You can call me over whenever you feel like it." she said in her voice that dripped with that of a seductress'. "You aren't going to tell me that you weren't satisfied, now are you?"

Hiten had to ponder about that fact. Yeah, it was good...for a woman that he had made love to only once a few moments ago. But he didn't want love from her; something made him believe that this wasn't the right girl. Not that he didn't want to mate a girl one day, but...

"I'll call you whenever I need you; um..." he paused to think. "What's your name?"

"My name is Namie." She said, and waved to Hiten before leaving the room. Walking down the corridors, she took glimpses of her house. This was a Rajuu family with pride, the money, and the men. What more did she have to lose?

On her way out, she saw Sakura and gave her a dirty look. But no worries, she thought. Hiten would never make love to a girl like...that. So homely, so not feminist, incapable of making love to any man.

She didn't know how wrong she could get.

* * *

Hiten looked across the room as he was getting dressed, and suddenly at the moment, a scent of blood made him aware. He hadn't killed anything that day, and even if he did he wouldn't be stupid enough to bring the bloody corpse into his room. 

Thinking no more of it, he grabbed his Raigekijin and that was when he noticed the dried up blood clung to the edge of the shiny blade.

It was then he realized that Sakura had been cut across the hand when she had dropped his Raigekijin, and it was his fault for leaving it out and not placed against the corner as he always did. Stupid girl, he thought. What if she got an infection or something?

Not that...it mattered...to him, anyway...right?

* * *

Sakura, once again, felt that she was short of sleep and was having another slumber out in the balcony with her back to the open wood floor. She had stopped crying a while ago; too much crying could give away her sense of sight, for everything would look blurry around her. Unfortunately, she didn't notice a certain thunder demon watching over her as she slept. 

"To wake or not to wake..." Hiten thought to himself. On one hand he wanted to wake her up just to get her annoyed; but on the other hand, she seemed really tired. After all...

She had cut her hand because he had offended her, and thankfully Manten had taken care of that. And now she slept here, trying to comfort herself with an evening nap. His eyes trailed down to her feet, and that was when he remembered that she had yelled at him a couple of days before;

_"You probably didn't have your village destroyed by thunder and lightening, or had your beloved brother come home from the war in burial linens, or had to walk for a thousand paces without any shoes on, so there!"_

"Stupid bitch..." he said with a grim expression. After a long pause and a lot of thinking, Hiten called Manten again for what seemed like the fifth hundered time that day and told him,

"Bandage her feet too, if you aren't busy." Hiten said with an overly casual smirk on his face and a dry cough; and left a very puzzled Manten behind to aid her feet.

* * *

_I decided that if this was going to be a Hiten fic, then Manten might as well have a debut role. I feel really sorry for Manten, no matter how unattractive he might be...and he had a slow and painful death in the anime, and that made it worse. _

_And now a question...I'm going to make either Hiten or Sakura die at the end. I know it's a bit early to ask the question, but who should? By the way, I have plots for both situations that I think will work out...I feel that Sakura should die, and Hiten should..._

_Oops, I've told too much already...I'll be shutting up and typing now..._


	6. I don't hate you

**(I don't hate you)**

The chilly night winds brushed up against Sakura's delicate skin as if they were waking her up. With a twitch she half opened her eyes and looked around to find that the sun was gone, replaced by the dark. What she had decided on as a short nap didn't exactly turn out to be one, so she decided to wander around some more.

Standing up, she was surprised at how easy it was to stand and walk, for before she had fallen asleep her tattered and worn out feet had been like going through a field of prickly thorns. Now, the pain was slighter than before and she wondered why.

Looking down, she saw in semi-darkness that her feet had been bound and wrapped tightly in white linens with ointment seeping through its texture. She then understood and smiled.

She walked into the small room that was next to Hiten's, the one that she had been locked in before. It didn't reek as much as before, but it was still dingy...and the room still slightly smelled like crap.

Not caring too much about that, Sakura curled herself into a ball on the tattered straw mattress and tried to go to sleep; for one of the thunder brothers would wake her up the following morning, and to be yelled at the first thing in the morning was the last thing she wanted.

She hated it when Hiten yelled at her, for his powerful voice would make her cringe. But what she hated even more was that when he spoke to her quietly with no emotion. It made her unaware of what he would do next.

If he was yelling at her, then she would know what would be coming, which was anger; but when he spoke to her in a calm voice that reeked of irritation, it made her skin crawl; for that was what she was afraid of. She never knew what he would do to her when he used that tone of voice towards her.

As she yawned out and forced herself to go to sleep, she heard shuffles down the corridor which led past the room she was in. The footsteps stopped suddenly, then they turned into the thundering steps that Hiten usually took; ones that rang across the hallways. It stopped at the door of the room and as she heard him slide it open, Sakura quickly closed her eyes and bit her inner lip so that she wouldn't twitch.

"I know you aren't asleep." His low yet tired voice spoke. "What the hell are you doing in here? I thought you left."

"It was cold out in the balcony." She whispered after pondering whether to answer to the demon's calls or not. "I wanted to stay inside."

"You could have told me, idiot girl." He replied harshly. "You have a mouth; you might as well tell me what you need." After a short pause, Sakura saw his lips turn themselves into a smirk and he spoke again.

"Why don't you come sleep in my room?"

"No." she simply said.

* * *

"Good night." Hiten said tiredly as he turned his back to her view, taking almost half the blankets along with him. Sakura sat up suddenly, surprising the thunder demon from his semi-sleep. 

"Why won't you just kill me?" she said. "I'd rather be killed than having to worry whether I'll have all four of my limbs on me when I wake up the day to follow."

Hiten said nothing; and his back was still turned to her. He then sluggishly told her to shut up and go to sleep.

"Hiten...?" she whispered again, tugging on the sash of his nightclothes.

"What...the hell...do you want now...?" Hiten said in chopped words, his voice literally drowsing in sleepiness and tiredness. Sakura didn't really notice this, however. But not wanting to bother him any further, she moved away from him; which caught his attention.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hiten said, turning his back to the wall and facing her.

"If you think I would have annoyed you, then why'd you call me here?" she questioned. "I don't understand you at all, Hiten. Do you hate me?"

"Why should I hate you?"

"Because I'm always pissing you off, I don't listen to you, and...some other things." She replied, her voice shrinking with every word. "Never mind."

"I don't hate you." He said. "I just think you're annoying."

"How many girls have you slept with?" was Sakura's other abrupt question in which her voice didn't shrink in intimidation. "Is that other pretty demon girl your girlfriend?"

Hiten paused for awhile then replied, "Why do you care if I'm a virgin or not? Yes, I've slept with a lot of girls, no, I'm not a virgin, and no, that girl's not my girlfriend, she's a prostitute."

"Okay."

"Now shut the hole in your face, please, and go to sleep." He said, turning his back to her view again.

* * *

"It's raining." Manten bellowed at the wooden table while Sakura made breakfast in the kitchen. Hiten was apparently looking quite pleased with the weather while Sakura had a grim expression on. 

She hated thunder and lightening. Not only was it her childhood fear, but it was why her life was ruined. Well, now that she thought about it, it wasn't really ruined...but she still couldn't get the picture out of her mind that only three weeks ago she was happy in her village, a week ago Manten had captured her and now she was here in the thunder brothers' lair.

Manten showed appreciation for her, but Hiten still refused to. He rarely spoke to her unless she did so first, and that wasn't often either. When he did speak to her, it was mostly complaining, threatening, anything but kind words.

A week she was here, and only Manten referred to her by her name; Hiten, on the other hand, seemed to have the fixed idea that her name was 'bitch.'

"Here you go." Sakura set the plates of human flesh down on the table, trying not to hurl at the meal that she had prepared for them. She didn't feel like eating anymore, so instead she decided to go out for a walk by the rocky cliffs.

"I'm going for a walk." Sakura said simply, setting out on bare feet with her sword into the rain. Not like Hiten would care, she thought as she slammed the wooded doors that sealed the thunder brothers' privacy and her liberty.

"An-chan..." Manten bellowed after a few minutes. "I have a question..."

Hiten looked up at him and nodded; Manten took his signal as a chance to speak.

"Well, an-chan..." Manten said in almost a whisper while twiddling his fingers, "I was thinking if you could treat that Sakura girl a bit nicer, I don't think she hates you."

"Who said I hated her?" Hiten scowled as he turned away. "I don't care about that girl; I'm only playing around with her. She doesn't mean anything to me."

"But you were the one who told me to bandage her feet and..."

"I never did!" Hiten denied and banged his fist onto the table as it gave way and cracked under the pressure. "What am I, to get in a relationship with such a homely girl? I'll screw around with her first before you use her for your hair potion or whatever."

"But I don't think that she deserves it." Manten commented as he remembered the sincere talk that he had with Sakura the day before. It was sincere, and her tears were surly not a lie.

"I don't give a damn..." Hiten yelled back in fury, but he got cut off by a high pitched scream from Sakura.

"Sakura!" Manten yelled as he grabbed his shoulder armor and darted outside. "An-chan, are you coming?"

"Why not?" Hiten said almost too calmly. He wanted to dart outside before Manten could in the worries of what could have happened, but at the moment he refused to give himself away.

'Sakura," he thought. 'you stupid bitch, you'd better not be hurt...'

* * *

_Yay! Hiten cares! (cough...) Well, I'm not too sure about a Manten&Sakura fic...I never thought about that, but maybe I'll make Manten a bit jealous...that'll increase the suspense! Hopefully..._

_Thank you guys for reviewing! I have no other stuff to write, so I'll lay it off here..._


	7. Attack of the demons

**(Attack of the demons)**

The walk that she wanted to take in absolute peace was disrupted. Now not only were a flock of the birds of paradise preying on her, her sword was knocked out by one of the demons and it lay a couple of feet away from her hand.

She struggled to move, but nothing worked; her back was pinned to the ground by one of the bird demons and its beak was going for her head when suddenly out of nowhere, she heard a yell.

"Duck, you stupid bitch!"

It was Hiten. Manten was followed by his presence as the younger thunder brother destroyed a pair of the bird demons that hovered above them viciously.

Hiten flew over to the small one that had her trapped between the ground and its claw, and struck it in half with the Raigekijin. Chunks of burnt flesh and bones scattered all over the ground as blood spewed from its decapitated head.

"Why did you go so far away from the house, you stupid girl?!" Hiten growled. "You could have been killed by these bloody demons!"

"I'm sorry." Sakura panickingly said as she reached out for her sword that had been knocked out of her hand. As she struggled to stand and to catch her breath, Hiten could see a gash across her back that was beginning to bleed. Gritting his teeth, he flew up into the skies with the aid of his fire wheels with Manten on his cloud by his side.

And so viciously, they ripped the demons apart limb from limb as Sakura watched on. It was painful for her, and the demon had merely stepped on her. She didn't want to think about what would happen to either of the thunder brothers if they were critically hit by them.

After what seemed like forever, Sakura let out her breath she was holding and sighed out of relief. For her, they were demons that she couldn't even encounter...and yet for the thunder brothers, this only seemed to be a warm-up as it was what Manten's expression had told her.

"We've killed them all, Sakura." Manten assured her as the duo lowered themselves to the ground, their backs to the open space of the grounds. "You don't have to worry. Let's go and treat your wounds." The younger thunder brother said as they set foot on the ground before her as the rain pattered on the ground harder than ever. It was getting quite hard to see now.

"Thank you, guys." Sakura said half out of gratitude that they came for her in the first place and the other half out of relief that no one got hurt...maybe except for her. However, her expression turned cold and hard as she gazed at what was coming behind Hiten's head.

It was one of the demon birds, but this one wasn't as huge as the ones that she had encountered. It was small, maybe the size of Manten's head. But who knew what kind of damage it could do? It could kill Hiten for all she knew.

"Get down!" Sakura yelled as she saw the bird demon fly at top speed towards the back of Hiten's head, its beak dripping with murder and blood. She tackled the older thunder demon to the ground as she could think of nothing else to do. The malicious beak of the bird demon cut Hiten's tanned cheek, but thankfully missed his head.

Instead, the beak drove itself past Sakura's right side, ripping through not only her clothes; but her fair skin as well.

'It's okay...' Sakura thought to herself as she saw a flash of lightening from Manten's mouth go out to the bird demon. 'Hiten's okay...he didn't die...he's safe...'

Everything around her went pitch black as she fell; not on the wet ground, but in Hiten's strong arms. But it was too late for her to know that as she passed out first.

* * *

The sun slowly started to set, and the dark silhouettes of the objects in the room started to appear. The bloodstained top that he had on was crumpled and thrown carelessly into the corner of his room, but that wasn't what Hiten was concerned about.

This girl...

She knew that he detested her...

But why did she save him?

If it wasn't for her, then he probably have found himself unconscious or even worse, killed by such an insignificant creature. He probably would have been able to take a blow. After all, he was a full demon who could take a cut here or a bruise there as if it was nothing.

But Sakura...

She was a human attacked by a demon. Now not only were her feet and hand hurt, but her back and side as well. It had been quite a while after he had peeled off her bloody top and had applied ointment that he regularly used after a brutal battle. He hoped it would work as quickly on her as it did to him.

"You stupid girl..." Hiten muttered to himself, rubbing on his faint wound on his cheek that had almost healed itself. "You stupid...why'd you do that?"

Hiten felt the bridge of his nose tingle with a sad sensation as he refrained his whole life of killing and almost getting killed. No one cared for him except Manten after the death of his father and mother, which was a long time ago.

Of course, he had been looked down upon many who insulted him; but he knew their fates were coming closer to them in a horrid, twisted form of death. The end of life. All demons and humans weaker or stronger than he was who faced death in front of him and his lightening blade had asked for mercy. No one got away alive to tell the tale of his lack of sympathy.

He had seeked for guidance in his Raigekijin, pleasure in various geishas and prostitutes, happiness in mass murders, and pride in himself.

Never had he seeked for caring, love, or affection...not to mention pity. No one pitied him. No one cared, loved of showed affection towards him. Why should they?

He was a powerful demon who killed innocent victims without remorse, without after-guilt. He had taken the lives of tens of thousands, maybe more; and from what Manten had told her, Sakura probably knew.

So why did she risk her own life for him?

Why did she risk her life to save a demon with a heart of ice?

An ice-hearted demon was what he was. An ice-hearted demon...

And this scarred, grungy girl was putting his life before hers, and her action resulted close to death.

"You stupid bitch..." he muttered sadly as he looked down at her face twisted with pain and tiredness. "You stupid, stupid bitch..."

* * *

_Aww! He really cares! (squeals) Why am I getting so fussy over my own fanfiction? Ah, well. I still didn't make Hiten call her by her name yet, I want to save that for a really special occasion which is coming up._


	8. Let the rain come down

**(Let the rain come down)**

In the midst of the sunlight pouring through the room as dawn broke through the night, Sakura tried to sit herself up but nothing worked. Her sides felt as if they were being burned with fire, and her back was burning with the scab firmly in place. Pushing back her black locks, she laid her head back down and turned her head to her left.

There, she saw bandages and ground herbs that were half gone. Beside it was a bucket of water concentrated with red blood; her blood; with white towels and linens soaked wet in the red liquid. Sakura crawled herself tiredly over to the items and saw that in the corner, Hiten was sleeping.

It was then she realized she had been in Hiten's bed with her top missing. Frantically searching around for it, she saw that it was crumpled in a secluded corner along with Hiten's top. Looking down, she saw that bandages were clinging tightly to her waist and had the sweet scent of ointment embedded into the layers. Smiling, she gazed to Hiten.

His spiked bangs were glistening with sweat and drooped over his forehead. His head bobbed against his chest every now and then, and white bandages wrapped themselves around his chest. Resting in the crook of his elbow, the Raigekijin was slipping out by the handle; but he didn't seem to notice that.

Completely ignoring the fact that it was he who disposed her of her top, Sakura smiled and brushed a sweatdrop off on his cheek with the back of her hand.

"Thank you, Hiten...I never knew..."

* * *

Even Hiten had to admit; his top that he had given Sakura to wear was too big for her. It was already baggy on him, so it was obvious that it wouldn't fit the slim fame of the girl.

"Um..." Sakura said, staring at the sleeves that hung on her arms like a scarecrow's clothing, "Isn't this too big?"

"Live with that one for now, okay?" Hiten said, trying not to snicker at the sight. The girl had a ragged skirt that came up to the middle of her thighs, and the top that she was wearing seemed as if she was wearing a linen tent over her instead.

Yes, Sakura had thought of wearing her other extra top that she brought with her. But apparently only the extra skirt was fine, and the extra top had been eaten away by moths. Using a spare strip of linen off from her wasted top, she tied it around her waist.

"Now how do I look?" she asked with a nervous grin on her face. Figuring that his clothes would have to do for Sakura now until further notice, Hiten nodded at her and gave a grin back to her.

At that moment, the sky turned an ugly shade of grey and rain started to fall. Sakura pointed outside and smiled, running out to the balcony faster than Hiten could blink.

"Look, Hiten!" she squealed. "It's raining!"

"Why are you so happy?" he said. "It's just rain."

"I know." Sakura said, running towards the balcony opening. "But the rain, it's so soothing and calm, and..."

Just as she said it, a thunderous rumbling in the sky was followed by a flash of lightening. Horrified, Sakura screamed and clasped her ears with her hands as Hiten stared blankly at her.

"So much for soothing." He joked, but when he saw that little drops of tears were making their way out of the corner of her eyes, he sat down next to her. "It's okay, the thunder's not going to kill you." He assured her. Sakura sniffled and wiped her tears away with her huge sleeves.

"You don't understand, Hiten." She said in barely a whisper. "My life was ruined by thunder and lightening, and I've hated it since. The sound terrifies me. The sight of it scares me. Everything about it scares me!" And she buried her face in her lap and stared to sob. Concerned, Hiten pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her neck. The surprised girl stopped crying.

"What...are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm comforting you." He whispered, kissed her temple lightly and hugged her even closer. "Are you that afraid of thunder and lightening?"

"Yes..." she said, but she didn't cry. She was taken aback at the way Hiten was treating her. Well, who wouldn't? This person was discriminating her just a week and a couple of days ago, and now he had her in his arms as if they had known each other for a long time since.

"I can't live, Hiten..." she whispered. "But I can't die without finding my purpose, either. What should I do?"

The thunder demon thought for awhile. Never had he replied to such a question from a female. He was surprised at himself for comforting her so well; he was expecting her to move away and cry even more, but that didn't seem to be the case apparently.

"Sakura..." Hiten whispered, allowing his blood red eyes to fall upon her coal black ones.

"Hmm?" she replied, and twitched when she saw him gazing into her so deeply. Usually this was followed by a kiss as the way she had known it. Never been kissed, she never knew what it would feel like. She didn't even fantasize doing such a thing apart from her friends.

She could hear him inching closer and closer. He took her chin by his thumb and index finger, and gazed into her intensely, drunken with a feeling that he couldn't control. His mind twisted within him, almost sending him a message to kiss her now.

_Tell her I care._

_Ask her why she put my life before hers._

_Tell her that I think about her differently._

_Ask her..._

_Why she cares._

_Then tell her why...I care._

He closed his eyes shut as another rumbling sound rang across the skies ever so dominantly. Moving his lips closer to hers, he could feel his heart thumping so hard it felt as if it was going to burst out of his chest. He wasn't about to kiss a girl that would give him pleasure, he was about to kiss a girl that he cared about. Her lips were so close to his now. Sakura closed her eyes and brought up her arms to his neck, wrapping them close.

Just then...

**"Hiten an-chan!"** Manten bellowed as loudly as he could, kicking open the door. **"I'm back!"**

Hiten twitched and quickly pushed Sakura away from him, then sat back down to where he was sitting before. Sakura looked at his face, which was twisted with annoyance and anger. She couldn't help but laugh quietly, but apparently the thunder demon had noticed her. Hiten stood up angrily and stormed off to his room as Manten called after him.

"Hey, an-chan! I..."

"Shut up, okay?!" the angered thunder demon said, stomping by him with a twirl of his thick braid and slamming the door shut. Sakura looked away and blushed while she brought her hands up to her lips, which were still warm from Hiten's breath.

'We...almost kissed...'

* * *

_Um...my body will be tattered so much that no one will be able to recognize it? Well, thank you...(sweatdrop;;) I appreciate it, but by the way the story is going to flow, Either one of them, not both or none; will have to die. It's just the way I wrote it out, so I can't really do anything about that, sorry...But don't, um...pulverise me and my well-being, it can get kinda scary...and intimidating, not to mention..._


	9. What a little can do

**(What a little can do)**

A few days had passed since her and Hiten's little balcony scene, and the thunder demon hadn't been speaking to her since. The only people that she could talk to were Manten and herself in the privacy of her dingy room.

That morning, Sakura woke up quite late to find that both brothers had left the house, probably to hunt...or to do other things. With nothing to do, she decided that for now she could clean up the house, sleep some more, and then go to the hot springs. She had snuck out of the house a couple of days ago and had found the most beautiful hot spring ever. She was quite sure that no one knew about this, for it was located in a really small cave-like space.

But she couldn't help but wonder...what was it that made her change her mind about Hiten? She remembered hating him deep down to the bone. She remembered him claiming that he wasn't a virgin, and that he had made out with other females. So why was she so attracted to him?

Night didn't come so slowly that day, and that was the way Sakura wanted it to be. The sun seemed to read her mind that she wanted to jump into her little hot spring faster once night came. After all, her hair was seriously starting to smell after two weeks of not washing it or putting it anywhere near water.

She grabbed a huge random towel from Hiten's room, wishing that he wouldn't question where it went for the next few hours or so. She decided to leave a quick note for him.

'Dear Hiten,' she wrote.

Looking at it, she scratched away the 'Dear' and pondered. 'Hiten, I'm going to go to the hot springs...' reviewing about that sentence, she scratched away the fact that she was going to the hot springs. You never knew what men could do.

After a few moments of scratching out and writing in, she left her note.

'Hiten, I'm going to go somewhere for the next couple of hours. Don't get pissed asking Manten where I went, because I'm not going anywhere far. After all, I can't make it through these cliffs myself, you know.'

Pleased, she carried her things in her bag and set off to get clean.

* * *

Sakura quickly stripped herself from her clothes and sank deep into the hot spring. A faint aroma of foggy moisture rose to the ceiling of the small cave, creating water droplets that fell upon the surface of the water.

She was quite pleased with herself for finding such a place. Hopefully, no one else knew about this; and she could keep her little secret to herself only. Looking at the ripples that every other water drops created, Sakura thought about the events that had went past her. She first thought of Hiten.

The crimson eyed demon with a mask of ice and a heart of fire.

She had only known him for two weeks, but that was a good enough time to get to know him. She had found that he was a caring person; only others didn't care or had taken the time to notice it. He pretended not to give a damn, but yet he did. He gave more than a damn, to be precise.

She knew now that he didn't hate her...but did he love her back? Two weeks, yes; was a short time to fall in love. But something strange came upon her as if she had known Hiten since childhood.

Still...she wasn't so sure about how Hiten felt about her. He had attempted to kiss her a few days prior with no success. That made her think hard; did he really care about her?

...Or was he trying to use her for pleasure and pleasure only?

If he was, she knew she didn't stand a chance. She was made fun of because she was a virgin back home in her village. All the girls had married at the young age of thirteen, experienced...whatever, and none of them still carried purity. She was, however.

She didn't want to lose her purity to a male that wanted her for pleasure; she wanted to lose purity to a male that loved her as much as she loved him. Sakura sincerely wished that Hiten wasn't toying around with her. If he was...

Sakura felt a tear squeezing its way out of the corner of her eyes. Closing her eyes shut, she let it drop to the surface of the water and hoped that Hiten wasn't playing around with her. That would be really...

Interrupting her thoughts, footsteps rang across the rock covered floor and she saw a faint outline of a male figure standing by the ledge of the hot spring. Horrified and surprised at the same time, Sakura quickly looked around for Hiten's towel and covered her body from her chest down, then sank into the water leaving only her eyes and nose out so that she could see who it was.

'So I wasn't the only one...;' Sakura thought to herself as the figure stripped himself of his clothes. Pressurizing herself and her mind not to scream, she sank down deep into the water after taking in a deep breath.

Underwater, she could hear the figure stepping into the waters and Sakura silently; and desperately; wished that this man had a towel on. Suddenly with a gasp, she inhaled a considerable amount of water and came up to the surface choking.

"Sakura?" she heard the male calling to her. She tried to squint through all the damp fogginess, but an outline of a face was all she could get out of it.

And maybe a pair of blood red eyes, raven hair, and...

'Oh my god...' Sakura thought to herself. 'It's Hiten! Or a clone of Hiten! Or someone that looks strangely too close to Hiten! Or...'

"Hi, Hiten." She said with a nervous cough. "Um, you knew about this place?"

"Of course..." he muttered. "I am the one who found this place, after all. And what are you doing with my towel?"

"Let me borrow it for awhile, okay?" Sakura pleaded. "I have to cover myself until I'm finished, right?"

"Not necessarily." Was Hiten's simple answer followed by a slap from Sakura. Scowling, she crossed her arms tight and glared.

"Pervert." She muttered under her breath so that he could hear. Hiten rubbed the slap mark which Sakura gave her and looked into her eyes again. Sakura loosened her expression and looked back at him.

"What?" he said, gazing away from her view. To his surprise, Sakura leaned on his shoulder and sighed deeply.

"Hiten?" she asked. "Am I merely nothing to you? Do you take me as an equal with any geishas? Am I no different to any of your prostitutes?"

Hiten felt his heart drop to his stomach. So this was why she was so upset for the past couple of days? For him it sounded like an unreasonable excuse to get mad or upset. Then again, maybe she thought that he had treated her nicely so he could get what he wanted. You never knew girls.

"I was wondering why you didn't kill me off, not that I wanted you to...but over the weeks I thought about you and how you were nice to me, but then I'd remember you wanting to rape me, that you kidnapped me only for your pleasure and I'd hate you all over again. But I don't feel that way anymore, I only think about you treating me kindly."

"Sakura..." Hiten whispered, but was cut off by her again.

"If you're just playing around with me, you might as well kill me right now..."

Hiten had enough. He wanted to show her how much he loved her, but if this was the way that she was going to come out, then he might as well show her.

"Remember the time when we were sitting on the balcony?"

"Yeah." Sakura replied.

"Well, I'd wanted to show you something."

"What is it?"

Without another word, Hiten wrapped his arms around Sakura's neck and kissed her ever so deeply; his mind shooting into a state of ecstasy.

* * *

_(Too busy typing at the keyboard eating ramen...) Oh, hi. I'm going to straighten things out..._

_1) No, there will be **no lemon scene in the hot springs...**_

_2) Yes, there **will be a lemon scene...**_

_3) Yes, that **Namie girl will come back...**_

_4) Yes, Manten **will do something bad...**_

_5) Yes, Sakura will...**OMG, I'm saying too much! Bye bye! (Bounces away)**_


	10. Expect the unexpected

**(Expect the unexpected)**

Sakura felt her heart thumping harder and faster with each passing moment that she and Hiten had their lips locked together so intimately. She didn't know what to think now that the unexpected had come and was laughing in before her face. As the thunder demon continued to caress her body gently, Sakura slowly understood.

He did love her.

He cared about her as much as she did.

Not hesitating anymore, Sakura placed her hands on his strong chest and slowly kissed him back. It was Hiten's turn to blush this time. He hadn't even realized how much he had loved her until their fates eventually caught up with them somehow.

Over the weeks he had wondered why. He had the ability to coax any female into the sheets, and they were females that had nothing to lose. Perfect bodies, beautiful complexion, and those various shades of eyes.

Sakura didn't have a perfect body. All the scars that she had were critical and to another male, it would have looked quite unattractive. But he knew.

He knew some of her scars; most of them; were created because of him. She had risked her life to save him a lot of times when she didn't have to. She had been hurt and abused by him with harsh words and she never fought back most of the time. She was different.

Breaking the kiss for a gasp of air, Sakura breathed heavily and smiled up at her lover. It was pure heaven to be in the arms of the one that she loved, the one that loved her back.

* * *

After listening to Manten and Hiten bicker over who would get more food, Sakura felt a sharp tug at her side and knew that her wound was starting to heal. It was getting really late outside; for when she and Hiten had gotten back from the hot springs, the moon was up and shining.

Climbing in between the sheets that Manten had gotten for her when she had disposed of the straw mattress, Sakura yawned tiredly and went to sleep. Strange thing was, she just couldn't seem to calm her mind. Her heart was still fluttering from what had happened and she couldn't bear it.

She just couldn't keep it in. She had wanted to ask him if she could love him even more, but of course she didn't have the will to ask such a thing from Hiten.

Just then, the sliding door slid open and Hiten walked into the room with his indoor garments on.

"Getting ready to sleep?" he asked. Sakura had a feeling that another unexpected event was yet waiting to come. Sitting up she started to answer but a moment later, she found herself pushed gently towards the wall.

"Sakura, I have a question." Hiten whispered. "Will you love me?"

She sat there pinned to the wall, still unaware of the question. She had just been thinking about asking him...not that she would have, she herself felt like a total flake to do so at the moment. But he had asked her.

"What if Manten finds out?" she asked. "He..."

"He doesn't need to know." Hiten whispered, laid her back down and rolled gently on top of her so that he wouldn't crush her. That was the last thing he wanted to do; to ruin the perfect mood that they were in. He then took off his top and let it fall next to the floor they were on and proceeded to take Sakura's clothes off.

To his surprise, Sakura didn't fight back. It was as if she had wanted this all along. With a smirk on his face, Hiten said to her in the midst of untying the sash around her waist,

"You act like as if you'd wanted to do this."

"No, I'm not." She then pondered. "Yes, I admit I am. But it's for the best."

Hiten gave her a weary grin as he undid her top. Sakura slightly arched her back as he toyed with her breast in one hand and the other hand snaked up her thigh. She pulled his down by his back and kissed him openly, allowing his tongue to enter her mouth and to clash with her own.

"Oh my God..." Hiten groaned after a while. They were now mouth to mouth, skin to skin, and chest to chest together. A faint layer of sweat worked its way out of their bodies, and that added to the heat. The hot summer night wasn't helpful enough to cool them in any way, but that didn't matter to them.

Sakura could see that he was getting tired already. But she had to admit, she was getting quite wiped out also. It was then Hiten whispered into her ear;

"This might hurt, Sakura." He told her as he entered her in a swift movement without warning. Sakura felt the pit of her stomach twisting within her so hard, she felt as if her senses were going to explode any minute Hiten made another move.

At first she squealed a bit from the pain. Hiten, realizing that this was her first time, kissed her on the forehead gently and waited until she could adjust. He didn't even dare to move, as he knew his careless motive could hurt her even worse; his knuckles went pale from the straining, and Sakura saw this.

'He really doesn't want to hurt me...' she thought. She then took a deep breath and said to Hiten,

"I'm fine now."

"Are you sure?" was his answer. Sakura inhaled deeply again, for she knew what was coming.

This was it.

Her purity wouldn't exist anymore.

But at least she knew that she would be losing it to someone who loved her deeply, someone who cared about her. And to her, that was a good enough deal.

"I'm fine." She whispered back.

* * *

_Eeee...I must admit, I stink at writing lemons...but I'm glad I got that over with. Whew! _

_No more lemons, ppl! I just can't write that kind of stuff...LOL....._


	11. Manten's jealousy

**(Manten's jealousy)**

Two weeks had passed since Hiten and Sakura had their love fling. She had to admit that he was getting quite protective of her nowadays, prior to how he used to treat her a month ago. It had been exactly a month since she had resided to live in the thunder brothers' home.

Days passed by and Sakura had a wonderful time. She and Hiten would go on long walks with their fingers intertwining with each other's all the time. He never said the three words 'I love you,' but Sakura didn't need him to say it; for she knew. Hiten had to admit that he was beginning to feel his mind settling peacefully upon his soul. And he could tell, because Sakura would smile at him for no apparent reason at all sometimes. She never did, but by this he knew.

It was too bad neither of them noticed Manten throughout the weeks...

* * *

_I was dragged away from society._

_I was dragged away from my parents._

_An-chan was the only person who would stay by me, but that Sakura girl had dragged An-chan away from me._

* * *

Manten had to admit; he had been the kind sort to Sakura and had listened to her. Now, the tables had turned and he was the one being secluded in the corner. Hiten never agreed to go on hunts as much or agreed to go and sabotage some unsuspecting villages as much anymore. It was then Manten regretted that he ever was nice to Sakura. He had shown kindness to a stranger, and all he had gotten from it was ignorance. 

Just then, he heard Hiten calling him for dinner. Brushing off the dust, he headed in the house.

"Yay, everyone!" Sakura yelled to no one in particular, holding three plates of human food. "Let's eat!"

"Why are you so happy today?" Hiten asked, picking up his chopsticks and his bowl of food. Sakura smiled and pointed to the meal. "Because I made this food extra carefully today, and it should taste nicer than other days!"

"Oh really?" Hiten and Manten both said and took a bite out of their dinner and found that it was better than they had thought. Looking up, Hiten spooned up some food from his bowl and put it to Sakura's mouth.

"It's really good, you should try some." He said. She smiled and inhaled the sweet spices; just then, she felt something rush over her lower stomach and felt like her stomach was going to drop. Sakura ran to the porch, as she felt a false gag coming over her. Hiten and Manten looked in surprise.

"What is it?" Manten asked. "Do you not like your own cooking?"

"No, I'm fine." She cheerfully said. "It's just...something."

"Okay. Now why don't you come and eat?" Hiten offered. Sakura sat down to get along dinner peacefully, but she couldn't get the bitter sourness out of her gut. It clawed at her as she felt another gag coming up followed by a pain in the stomach, and Hiten frowned.

"You don't look so good." He said impatiently, putting down his bowl in the midst of eating. "Go lie down, okay?"

"I'm fine, it's just that..."

Sakura stopped. And while she did, she patted her lower stomach with both hands and felt a not-so-large, but yet noticeable bump. Noticing this, Hiten's crimson eyes grew wide and he sat himself in front of her.

"Give me your hand." He said, and checked her pulse even before she could say anything more. Hiten felt a strong pulse from the girl. But that wasn't what he was looking for. He closed his eyes and waited for something else to come to him.

Another faint pulse.

It was hardly noticeable under the dominant pulse of Sakura's, but he could still make it out.

"Two weeks..." Hiten muttered, totally taken over by the fact. "Two weeks..."

**"Two weeks what!?"** Sakura and Manten yelled in frustration. They wanted an answer now. Hiten commented,

"Sakura...you're _two weeks pregnant."_

* * *

The week went by ever so peacefully for Hiten and Sakura. Hiten even said that he wouldn't go on hunting as much, for it could affect the baby. It was a girl, to be exact. Sakura wasn't too sure of how Hiten could get such an exact answer, but what mattered? She and Hiten would have a cute girl baby. They talked about how it would look like; whether it would have its daddy's eyes or its mommy's hair. 

Meanwhile, Manten seriously felt left out. He did feel happy for the both of them, but couldn't help but feel the bitterness pushed deep within his mind coming out to haunt him. He was jealous...of Sakura. Of his 'sister-in-law.'

And all this had happened over a month and a week.

Over that time he had encountered a strange girl, seen his cold hearted brother show his soft side, overheard Hiten and Sakura talking about their intimate night, and had found that his brother had gotten Sakura pregnant; and was showing support for her instead of urging her to abort the child. Abortion was painful from what he had heard. You either had to hit the lower stomach of a pregnant woman or go through some serious operating.

He guessed that Hiten really did love her, for other times he got his prostitutes pregnant he would punch their stomachs to abort the child. But for everything there was a first, right?

He sighed and waited outside the house walls for his brother to return. Hiten had left that morning and it was the middle of a sunny afternoon. He thought if he were to greet his An-chan upon his return he would be able to exchange a few sentences with him. At the moment, Sakura was the only person in the house, probably comforting herself. Demon babies grew fast, and the woman bearing the child would only have to bear it for two months. That meant that three weeks later, Hiten would be a father.

Sakura would be a mother.

And he would be an uncle to the baby.

Trying to rid himself of the thoughts that shot in his head so that he could get to sleep, Manten lowered his eyelids and started too doze off on his chest, stubby legs crossed.

Just then he felt something slither up his upper chest. Looking down, he saw that it was a delicate greenish-yellow snake that was now proceeding to slither up his neck. Looking up, Manten prayed that it wasn't who he thought it was.

"Hello, Manten." Namie called out, towering above him.

* * *

_Ahahaha! I love the climax! I already wrote out chapter 13 on paper, and even to myself it's sooo sad! Can any of you guess what it is? (tear...) I told you that Manten's going to do something bad, it's already in this chapter...not really 'bad,' more like jealousy. And (plays dramatic music) Namie is back! (By the way, you pronounce it 'Na-mee-eh.') **I made her do something so evil in chapter 13 that you people won't even feel sorry for her when she gets punched in the face by Hiten! **_

**_Sorry if this chapter's a bit falling behind than the other ones, like the descriptions and so on...but I was having a crappy day at school today, so I'm really sorry...I promise I'll get better! Haha! Hope you people understand!_**

_Oh yeah. (waves) Hi Lee-chan! You reviewed, you good friend of mine you! _


	12. Namie returns

**(Namie returns)**

Namie stepped through the doors that led to the corridors, her snake wrapped around her neck like an elegant scarf. Manten quickly followed her and demanded to know why she was here.

"You're not supposed to be here, An-chan didn't even send for you..."

"Shut up, you oversized reptile." Namie snapped. "Where's Hiten?"

Manten tried to think of an excuse so that Namie wouldn't question about Hiten's whereabouts; but seeing as he didn't answer as fast as she had wanted him to, Namie proceeded down the hallway.

Meanwhile Sakura lay on Hiten's floorbed, patting her bulging stomach. She winced as she felt a few kicks in there a couple of times, but tried to ignore it. She couldn't feel the pain that much, either.

The happiness that she had was overcoming her fears about her baby, the fact that she would become a mother of a child; Hiten's child, to be exact.

"I guess he was serious when he said demon babies grow fast..." Sakura muttered under her own breath and had to admit; he was right after all. It had only been three weeks of pregnancy and she was told that it would last only five more weeks.

At the moment, the sliding door slid open with a violent crash, revealing Namie standing by the doorway.

"Where's Hiten?" she demanded in the snappy manner that she did to Manten. "Where is he?"

"He'll be back soon, he's just gone hunting." Sakura explained to her as Namie snorted. _'So that girl's still here...'_ she thought to herself, glaring at the unsuspecting Sakura.

"He left this morning, so he should be..."

"Are you carrying a child?" Namie cut in suddenly with her eyes flashing and finger pointing towards Sakura's stomach. Sakura didn't know what to say. This demon girl might try something. After all, she knew what Namie's motives were. Get the man, the house, and the money.

She didn't care about love. All she cared about was her own well-being. Smiling, Sakura nodded her head and told her that she was, in fact, carrying a child.

"Who's the father?" Namie said sarcastically. "Is it Hiten?"

"Yeah." Sakura shot back, putting Namie into a state of shock. "I am, actually, and I'm not going to let anything happen to her."

"It's a girl?" she leered as the snake hissed its venom. "How do you know?"

"I don't, Hiten does." She said. "He can tell whether it's a male or female."

Struggling not to grasp Sakura around the neck and choke her until her last breath, Namie plastered on a phony smile and tried not to grimace at the new news. "I'll be leaving." And with a flash of her long black hair and her pet snake, she slammed the door. With firmly clenched teeth, she stomped back down the hallway in anger.

Manten was there standing beside the door. He shrunk back in intimidation when his eyes met with hers, although he didn't have any good reason to do so.

"Call me when Hiten gets back." She said sleazily. "I'll be back for him."

"Hiten An-chan won't be keeping women like you around here anymore." Manten stated. "He's now a father of a child to be born."

"But if I bear his child, won't that make me his spouse as well?"

Manten leered at the impudent demoness. "Why do you want to be An-chan's spouse so much?" he shot back to her. "Surely one must have a reason..."

"You don't need to know." Namie snapped back. "I have legitimate reasons."

And with a huff she left, leaving Manten to wonder about what she meant by 'legitimate.'

* * *

"Manten, help me get this thing." Hiten called out at the front doors as Manten hurriedly opened the doors.

'So much for waiting outside..." he thought. After the hunt was brought into the storage and was locked up, Hiten then turned to Manten.

"Was anyone here?" he asked, wiping a drop of sweat off of his cheek. Manten didn't dare to say that Namie had been here. Knowing his An-chan, he could be the one in trouble for not looking after the house and allowing her to aggravate Sakura. Manten shook his head defiantly and said,

"No...no one was here, An-chan."

"Oh, really?" Hiten said with a cocked eyebrow. He seemed to doubt Manten's stutter in speech, but let it go anyway. The younger thunder brother silently wished that Sakura wouldn't mention Namie's short but disturbing visit. He knew that she was up to plot something, but decided not to tell Hiten...yet.

* * *

With its presence, the sheer moonlight shone on it creating a faint glow. The moon had taken over the skies with its abundance of the stars, and the light that it gave off was beautiful. The light shone upon Sakura and Hiten, who were sleeping in each other's arms so intimately; not knowing that they would be traumatized in a while when they found out. But the unknown figure knew for the moment.

It knew who its target was; it knew that its master had ordered it to dispose of a 'special person.' How soundly were they sleeping in each other's arms...and the woman bearing the child who was wincing now and then was its target. It made its way soundlessly across the cool floor, raising its head high, beady eyes flashing; fangs sheathed and ready to strike at any given moment.

With a swift movement it dug its fangs deep into the girl's palm and didn't dare to move until it was sure that she didn't thrash. Digging in further, it spread its poison to where it wanted it to go. All its master had wanted it to do was to dispose of the child, for she had said that she would take care of the female.

It deadly poison seeped throughout Sakura's body as the figure slithered back out of the porch where its master awaited.

* * *

_Um...a bit sad, ne? So you can probably guess what's going to happen in chapter 13...and even if I wanted Namie to be in the story, I'm hating her so much!_

_But I guess it adds up and it's me who made the fic, so blame me for making...(gasps) **I'M SAYING UNWANTED THINGS AGAIN! SPOILER ALERT! BYE BYE!**_

_(bounces away)_


	13. First loss

**(First loss)**

Sakura dreamed while she slept, tossing and turning. It was the best she could do to try and get away from the splats of black and red throughout the place she was in. Her body burned up like it was on fire, but suddenly the pain and throbbing stopped.

The red and black cleared up; almost 'crawled' away to what it seemed like her, revealing a beautiful garden. Cherry blossoms flew among the sweet wind, carps swam in the small pond and in the brook with an elaborate wood bridge arched over it. The green grass stood proud and tall among the shrine that was across. Sakura was dazzled by the presence of it all, and wondered if this, in fact, could be a dream.

Of course it was, but for then she couldn't tell; it was so real. She could actually feel the wind making its way through her hair, giving her the exact smooth feel when her beloved thunder demon would run his fingers through her short locks.

She stood before a bridge with the brook separating her from a group of merry people who were happily talking and drinking rice wine on the other side. She had never seen so many people of different ages making confrontations so smoothly. Just then, she saw a figure that she was familiar to.

A male...long raven hair tied into a braid, well dressed, tanned skin; she gasped.

'Hiten?' she thought. But it couldn't be. This male was human. Then...it must be...

"Brother!" she called out. "It's me, Sakura!"

Her brother seemed startled and taken aback on the other side to have someone call him 'brother.' He looked at Sakura, though, and his eyes went wide. He set down his bowl of rice wine and smiled weakly at her. He then stood up, bringing the festive music and merrymaking to a halt. All the figures stood up and made their entrance.

Sakura knew them all. Every single one of them. They were people from her village who had deceased in the fire that had struck, now so peaceful and calm and, to Sakura's relief, they seemed content.

_"Sakura..."_ her brother said and made his way across the bridge. His flowing robes trailed behind him and shone with a light of radiance. _"You're here."_

"Yes, I am, brother!" Sakura said with tears of joy in her eyes and went to embrace him. "I'm so happy to..."

As she got to the bridge, she hit an invisible barrier and rubbed her forehead. Setting her hand on the walls that blocked her physically from her brother, she gazed into his black eyes.

"Why can't I get to you?" she asked in a shaking voice. Her brother opened his mouth and spoke.

_"Sakura, you are at the boundary of the living and the dead. The side that you are on is for the living, and the side that we are at is for the dead."_ He took a deep breath and continued to speak.

_"All people who come to the boundary, however, are because the dead has summoned them. And that doesn't happen very often, Sakura. It is either to bring the living person straight over to the side of the dead or to take someone's life away. We, as the dead, control life."_

"So...what do you want with me, brother?" she asked.

_"You were bit."_ He said. _"By a venomous reptile. While you viewed the splotches of black and red, the undertakers took the poison out of your body and spared you with my commands."_

"I was bit?" she whispered. And as her brother pointed to the bite marks on her palm, she understood. "Namie..." she growled in a vengeful whisper. Her brother placed his hand on her stomach as she lifted her eyes to his again.

_"I would have been an uncle, Sakura."_ He said mournfully. _"Your child..."_

"What about my child?" she asked.

_"Your baby will stay with us now."_ He remarked, hand still on her stomach. When he removed his hand from her, a glowing light protruded around his hand and took the human form of a healthy baby girl dressed in white.

"My baby!" Sakura exclaimed and reached out for her.

To her surprise, her brother stepped back into the barrier; into the world of the dead. Sakura felt her face draining itself from all warmth.

"What...are you doing, brother?" she questioned with an expression of horror.

_"Your baby's life has ended before it could take a breath of the world."_ He said, lifting a finger to the baby's forehead and looked into its blood red eyes. The baby cooed happily, not knowing what was going on. _"She has Hiten's eyes, does she not?"_ he asked. _"Until your life gets taken away from you, Sakura, I shall take my niece under my care as her uncle, as your brother."_

"But..."

_"I'm sorry, Sakura."_ He said. _"You must return to the world of the living now. I'm sorry."_

"No..." she wailed as she saw her baby happily cooing on the other side. "What do you mean? Please don't take her away! Please..."

* * *

Hiten shook Sakura again. She had been moaning in her sleep the whole time and he had to say that it was critical. A thin layer of sweat formed on her forehead as she thrashed wildly, like she was trapped in a nightmare she couldn't get out of.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" he asked desperately. As he asked, Sakura woke with a twitch; but fell back onto her pillow after coming to. A while later, Hiten could hear sniffling from the girl, and something in his demon senses told him that there was one less life in the room.

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

Sakura tried hard not to cry anymore and forcefully held it in. "Our baby..."

"What about?" he said. "Is she kicking again?"

"She won't be able to kick anymore, Hiten..." she choked. "We've lost her."

Hiten blinked his eyes several times. The night sky was blank now with no clouds, only the moon and stars hung in the heavens.

"No..." he rasped after sensing his soon-to-be baby's lifelessness. "How..."

"How doesn't matter, Hiten." Sakura wasn't able to hold it in anymore. With another choke she flung her arms around Hiten's waist. "Our hope...our child...our baby...she's died. My dead...dead brother came to me in my dream and took her away to the side of the dead, he said he would look after her as her uncle...she's dead, Hiten. She's lifeless..."

And she broke down in his arms in tears of sorrow. No loss could measure up to this much pain and suffering. To know that she was carrying a life...but then to know that the life didn't exist...

It was too big a loss.

* * *

_(sobs) And therefore, none of you shall feel sorry for Namie when she gets punched in the face. I shall enjoy writing the scene, not that I am an (cough) evil person..._

_**So shall I pass the tissues around?**_


	14. Fur of the fox

**(Fur of the fox)**

Trying to calm Sakura down didn't work for Hiten or Manten. If anything had changed, it was the fever that she had gotten the previous night; and it was only getting much worse. Only after what seemed like an eternity, Hiten and Manten finally got Sakura to calm down.

But Hiten couldn't say that he wasn't upset. She still hadn't told him anything other than that the baby died, and he raved to know more of what she wouldn't tell him.

"An-chan, you're quiet today." Manten said nervously with a mumble as he watched his brother flop onto the grey cloud of his. Manten understood that Hiten wanted to have an alone time but still didn't get why he was so upset. It wasn't like Sakura had died, wasn't it?

"The way she was upset…" he muttered to Manten and to the nothingness, "it wasn't like when she would get upset at me for being rude to her, it was more like when…one would lose their precious one and would cry."

How he had expected everything to turn out wasn't turning out as he had hoped it to.

It was as if fate had given him everything he desired and was slowly taking it all away all over again. Slowly, but surely.

Seeing that his brother was dazed out, Manten decided that he shouldn't tell him about Namie's visit still. That would only be like pouring oil into a blazing fire, he thought. But something in his mind kept tugging at him to just say that Namie was probably the culprit.

"Hey…an-chan?" Manten cautiously said, being careful not to tick Hiten off. "I…"

"I what?" Hiten shot back menacingly. Manten shrunk back in intimidation.

"Never mind…"

"If you have something on your mind, you might as well say it, Manten." Hiten huffed impatiently. "You know I'll find out anyway."

Manten knew he was trapped. He knew he couldn't get out of this situation no matter what, as Hiten would just keep scratching at him to say it. Just then, he caught a presence of shikon shards right under them.

"I sense shikon shards, an-chan!" Manten yelled out loud in excitement, forgetting in an instant what he was about to tell Hiten. But thankfully, that was on the least of Hiten's mind also.

* * *

It had been so long since he saw this much blood. As Hiten struck his Raigekijin at the fox demon, a cut appeared and blood went flying everywhere. Five shades of red, oozy, warm liquid blood. Spilling out of a body. It shot his mind up into a feeling he couldn't control. It was just like old times, except he showed all his hatred and uncontrollable rage upon an innocent, unsuspecting fellow demon.

The demon took human form, but Hiten could tell that this was a fox demon by its appearance and tail. And the smell….

As Manten shot out a sphere of burning lightening from his mouth, a thunderous sound erupted and the demon fell from exhaustion and pain. It couldn't defend itself off anymore. Hiten slowly walked up to it with Manten in the lead. The fox demon was now cowering; its clothes tattered and soaked with blood. He seemed to be choking on his very blood that seemed to be coming up to his throat.

"My…my…son…" the demon rasped out its last words. Manten went to crush its head and skull altogether to get the shikon shards, but Hiten extended a hand and blocked Manten from doing so.

"Hiten an-chan, he might be forging a trickery!"

"Let him say his final word." Hiten said. "He is close to dying."

"My…son…Shippo…" the demon said, revealing its true form of a huge fox. Manten at once plunged his hand into the carcass of the demon and retrieved five glistening shards of the jewel as soon as he made sure it was dead. He handed three to Hiten, who now was looking upon the fox demon's beady eyeswith a small sign of sympathy.

"An-chan, you aren't feeling sorry for this insignificant demon, are you?" Manten commented as he saw Hiten not taking the shards, but looking dazed once again. Hiten came to with a twitch and grabbed them from Manten's outstretched palm.

'Shikon shards…' he pondered, frowning. 'we have taken it from a helpless fellow demon…'

Looking down, he saw that Manten was in the process of skinning the dead animal's pelt.

"Are you going to keep that?" Hiten scowled. "Ask Sakura to wash off the blood outside by the stream before you bring it anywhere in the house."

"Aye." Manten responded, holding up the fox pelt. There were so many scratches and holes in it due to their violent act. Hiten didn't know why he was returning to the ice cold murderer that he once was…

Before he met Sakura.

Yet he didn't know why he was returning to the person he used to be. While he was pondering, he heard a small rustle in the bushes and saw that a small fox-like figure stepped out, his arms overflowing with tiny little acorns.

"Papa, look at all the acorns that I…" he said, but froze in horror as his eyes fell upon the bloody carcass of its dead father. Manten seemed amused, but Hiten just stared at the small figure who was now walking over to the roughed up carcass.

"Papa?" he squealed in sorrow, tears running down his face. "Papa!!"

* * *

"An-chan, I still don't understand why you didn't want to do off the young one." Manten grumbled. "The tyke might have had more shards of the…"

"Save it, Manten." Hiten scowled and shoved the shards of the jewel into his forehead.

"But an-chan," Manten said. "Why are you suddenly changing?"

"Why do you care?!" Hiten yelled at Manten, coming to an angry halt in the midair. He floated angrily with the aid of his fire wheels, his bloodshot eyes burning with anger and annoyance. Manten decided that he shouldn't hold back on his thoughts anymore. In a sudden burst of bottled-up emotions, Manten spilled everything out in words.

"I liked you better before, an-chan!" Manten yelled back as his brother, dumbstruck as if he had just been struck across the face, floated. "I don't understand why you'd let yourself down for the sake of Sakura! How is she different from any other girl than the fact that she cared? I know you can live with or without women, but this is too much! I want you back, an-chan…I just want you back…"

And Manten stopped talking as he felt a weak barrier of tears push themselves to the surface of his eyes. Hiten looked back at Manten and glared. He didn't know why…one part of him wanted to go and comfort Manten as an older brother that he was, but another part of him…didn't really feel like he should, that Manten should learn by himself.

"Let's go hunting a bit more, Manten." Hiten said quietly and flew off first, leaving Manten into a state of blankness.

* * *

Sakura sat up to find her cheeks smeared with hot tears. She wiped them away as she stood up wearily, hoping that Hiten and Manten would be back soon. Placing a hand on her now flat stomach, she couldn't do anything to stop the lump in her throat from arising. The scar that was in her side had healed midway, but she knew the scar would stay there for the rest of her life.

_"I've been through more pain than you'll ever get in your lifetime, you unfeeling son of a bastard!"_

_"Why won't you kill me and get it over with?"_

_"You locked me in here."_

_"I don't understand you at all, Hiten. Do you hate me?"_

_'It's okay...'Hiten's okay...he didn't die...he's safe...'_

_"But the rain, it's so soothing and calm, and..."_

_"I was wondering why you didn't kill me off, not that I wanted you to...but over the weeks I thought about you and how you were nice to me, but then I'd remember you wanting to rape me, that you kidnapped me only for your pleasure and I'd hate you all over again. But I don't feel that way anymore, I only think about you treating me kindly."_

Remembering what she had said to the youthful thunder demon throughout the two months, Sakura smiled, then burst into peals of laughter as if she was out of control. But her false state of content only made the tears push themselves out of her eyes even more, and soon she found herself backed against the wall crying into her hands.

Tears ran down her eyes uncontrollably. Many tears had fallen from her eyes, unlike how much she had cried before she met Hiten. She had never cried this much. It was Hiten who stirred up her emotions so badly, sometimes in a good way. She was aware of everything around her now.

Tears of anger had fallen from her eyes.

Tears of sorrow…

Tears of joy…

Tears of anew found feeling…

Tears of hatred…

She let everything out. She just didn't understand how this was working out. She had lost everything; her home, family, friends, village.

Then she had gained it back twice as much. Hiten and Manten, the lair, kindness, an experience never to forget, and a child.

Now a twisted form of fate was coming back to haunt her for all she knew. She lost her child, and now she feared of losing more important things…

Hiten…

Manten…and their lives as well as hers…

Her sanity...which she desperately wished she would never lose.

How desperately she wished that her twisted fate wouldn't be clashing into the ones that she loved…

* * *

_I find this fic turning more into the dark side, don't you guys? Well, by the look of how it's going to go this fic seems like it's gonna be...really long. (Anvil lands on Yuni-chan's head) The stress....Building up...NOOOO!!! (Chugs down a bottle of soju) Oh no, I'm an online underage drinker...Not that I really drink. _

_**But it's okay, as long as people are enjoying the story...Plz read and review! It wouldn't hurt to take 10 seconds out of your time to add a suggestion or a comment, LOL!**_


	15. Small sympathy

**(Small sympathy)**

"You're back late." Sakura said bluntly as she held open the door to greet Hiten and Manten, but froze when she saw that the brothers were both covered in crimson blood and sweat.

"We've been hunting." Hiten said casually walking into the room as he stripped himself of his bloody armour. Sakura frowned, but foreshadowed that Hiten didn't want to be bothered at the moment and decided to leave him as he was. She followed his path and picked up the armour that he had carelessly thrown onto the ground.

"Sakura?" Manten called out as Hiten slammed the door to his room. "Don't worry about an-chan; he's just shaken over by the hunt."

"What hunt?" she questioned as Manten handed her yet another bloody item to wash off. Manten proudly pointed to his forehead, and Sakura cocked her head in confusion. Then she realized that they were shikon shards that were embedded in his forehead skin, and yet the glow was shining through visibly.

"An-chan has three." Manten told Sakura triumphantly. "We mugged a fox demon and took it from him, and then we went to test it out on two armies that seemed like they were getting ready for war. I can't believe how well they worked on them."

Crystal clear water ran down the cold stream as veins of blood concentrated the clear water, weaving in and out of the currents until they blended in among the clearness. It was the middle of the night; but seeing as she had nothing to do and had to do something other than to sit on her bottom and do nothing at all, Sakura polished away on Hiten's shoulder armour with a rag. As the splotches of blood cleared away, Sakura dipped it in the water and watched the rest of the red liquid wash away within the currents.

The only source of light that was there for her to see was the moon. A thin crescent moon hung in the heavens, shining with all its might. For a midsummer night it was chilly, and having to dunk her hands in the water up to her elbows wasn't doing enough to warm Sakura. Picking up the now clean fox pelt, she got her prepared needle and thread and started to sew away.

'Hiten's changing…to the way that he used to be. He killed without remorse like he used to...' She thought. 'But do I really have a say in this, though? It's not my problem about his personality…right? I shouldn't be poking my head in everything…right?'

Sakura gave a sudden jolt as the needle pricked her finger deeply. She brought her hurt finger to her lips and looked up into the dark sky, as if waiting for a response to her question. Nonetheless, she finished mending the holes in the pelt; and decided that it was getting quite late. Shuffling back to the cliffs where probably one of the thunder brothers would be waiting to bring her back up into the lair, Sakura gave a weak smile to the nothingness.

'Well, at least…he seems to be happy.'

* * *

She hoped that her fever would probably get better after a good sleep. It did, actually. She was quite content with her well-being, if it wasn't for the fact that she felt as if she had overslept. The sun hung in the sky and shone brightly, and she wondered if Hiten would be pleased with this kind of weather.

As she looked for the duo and found that she couldn't find either of them, she scowled slightly and headed for the door just as it swung open.

"I'm back early today, Sakura." Manten said cheerfully, pointing to an unconsciousyounggirl slung over his shoulder."And this time, I brought home a lively one for my hair potion."

"Oh really?" Sakura said as she gazed at the passed out girl.Her eyes trailed to the girl's strange outfit, and she frowned slightly with awkwardness when she gazed at the shortness of the girl's skirt. But even still, she gave the girl a pitiful look.

'Poor girl, she's surely going to get eaten.' She thought. Remembering the time when she was first kidnapped, Sakura smirked a bit, but not for long.

"Manten…"

"Hmm?"

"I…never mind." Sakura stuttered, fiddling with her hands. "If you really have to kill her, then please make it quick so she won't suffer."

Manten scratched his head and heaved the victim onto his shoulder. "Well, all right, but I don't see why you would care about this girl. You don't even know her."

"I'm just being sympathetic."

Manten shrugged and went off into his secluded room, the girl on his shoulder, and slammed the door shut behind him. Sakura could hear him locking the door, as she had expected him to do.

Sakura wandered into Hiten's room and flung herself upon the floorbed, stomach to the ground. Twitching once in a while from hearing the bubbling in the room next to Hiten's, she closed her eyes and decided to go to sleep.

"I said, get the hell off me!"

"Hiten, why won't you accept me? You're everything to me!"

"Why the hell must you follow me out of all the men around here?"

Such were the sounds she heard; and the unlocking of a door, probably the front doors; that woke her up mid-sleep. Sakura quickly got up, smoothened out the wrinkles in the huge shirt from Hiten and dashed outside. As she walked past Manten's room, she heard Manten's bellowing and a scream. How she felt sorry for the soon-to-be-victim. As she dared to knock and ask Manten to open the door, she saw Hiten turning the corner.

"Let go of me, you little…"

"Hiten, please!"

The sight was so desperate in Sakura's eyes. Namie was clinging onto Hiten's arm like a thread on a needle, while Hiten was madly trying to brush her off. Namie's desperate, weak expression quickly hardened into an icy glare as she saw Sakura.

"So you're still here." She growled with a smirk, her snake hanging around her waist.

"……yes." Sakura muttered quietly.

The feelings came upon her and pushed at her violently. Never in her life had she thought of such gruesome thoughts.

How she wanted to strangle that snake, how satisfying it would be if she could just crush its head open with a stomp of her bare heel, to feel the snake's guts sqishing against the pressure. How she wanted Namie to burn, to burn in eternal hell where she would never escape from the bloody tormenting of the underworld.

Namie's voice interrupted her thoughts as she snapped back to reality.

"Hiten, why do you keep this girl around?" Namie screeched. "She couldn't even bear you a child; look at her unshapely figure and her lack of poise! Unlike I, who…"

"Be quiet, or Hiten an-chan will surely eat you!" Manten's faint voice rang out from the room.

Hiten smirked. Pulling back his firmly clenched fist, he brought it straight into the wooden door. To her relief, Sakura saw that the girl was frightened but still alive. Opposed to that, though, she saw that Manten was near a huge butcher knife; Manten and butcher knives don't go together, she thought. And not when he's seriously desperate for hair.

"Hello, Manten." Hiten said with a huge smirk on his face. His smirk washed off, though, as Namie clung to his arm again. Through clenched teeth he finished his sentence. "I didn't expect you to be back so soon."

"An-chan, I…I'm just…" Manten stuttered. Sakura looked on at the confusing scene, but in her eyes the strange girl in the short skirt seemed confused and frightened.

"Hmm?" Hiten said, noticing the girl cowering in the corner. "Is this a girl, Manten?"

"Please, an-chan…she's my prey…I need her for my hair potion."

"Don't worry, Manten." Hiten said. "Say, have you found any more shards of the jewel?"

Sakura watched as Manten pondered a bit, and saw that his forehead was glistening with sweat. She knew he was hiding something; and at the moment Manten dared to tell the truth.

"I'm sorry…I found the fox tyke with some shards, but I lost him…"

"You lost…him?" Hiten said as he stepped forward in front of Manten. Sakura stepped into the room and stood by the dried herbs hanging off from the wall as Namie stood in the doorway smirking. Hiten's brow furrowed and he yelled,

**"Do you mean to tell me that this girl has blinded you to the shikon shards…that you let them slip out of your fingers?!"** Hiten bellowed in livid anger and irritation, and with a swift movement he rammed his fist into Namie's face.

Manten twitched.

The girl in the short skirt screamed and covered her eyes out of horror and fear.

Sakura felt her heart drop to her stomach and felt as if she would hurl at the sight.

* * *

_**Ahaha! Ahahahahaha!** (cough) I'm sorry, but that was very stress relieving. And instead of Hiten's arms around her, I wanted her to die a miserable death. **Haha!** I'm still grinning at the thought of that stupid girl nagging him then getting punched in the face! **Ahahaha...**(cough)_

_Thanks for the reviews! You guys are great!_


	16. Defiance and lies

**(Defiance and lies)**

_'This demon lady seemed as if the gods had wielded her into perfection. Her eyelashes spread out like fans, olive green eyeshades were in place. A snake seemed to be replacing her top at the moment, but it certainly didn't seem like an ugly sight for a male._

_And her complexion, so pale unlike Hiten's...and so graceful and curvy...'_

Such were the thoughts that Sakura had thought when she had first come into contact with Namie. How Namie had looked down on her as a filthy human girl was no more. Her goddess-like face was reduced to a heap of blood and chunks of bones and skin. The hole, still visible under the gory heap was being occupied by Namie's pet snake.

It wasn't surprising that Hiten hadn't even taken two seconds to look back at Namie; it seemed as if he knew what he did and how the scene was like.

"You useless excuse of a demon!" Hiten spat out the words as they cut against Manten's feelings once again. "If you weren't my brother I'd have done you off a long time ago!"

Sakura took a deep breath and dared to stand up for Manten. "Hiten, I think you're being a bit too harsh on him…"

"If I treat him softly, Sakura, he'll never learn!" Hiten growled. "Father brought me up the exact way that I am bringing up…"

"But you're not your father, Hiten!!" Sakura yelled and kneeled in front of him. "You're not your father, you're Hiten! Please…why are you changing?"

This got Hiten taken aback a bit. First he had heard it from Manten, and now Sakura. He frowned and just to get his mind off things, asked Manten about the shards of the jewel.

* * *

"So the fox tyke did off with some other shards, Manten?" Hiten said after listening to Manten's long story. Throughout the whole explanation, the young girl in the green skirt listened with intensity as Sakura herself merely sat there listening blankly. 

"Let's go, Manten." Sakura heard Hiten's snappish voice and twitched. As she looked up, she saw Hiten rubbing his bloody hand on a cloth, getting ready to leave. In the meantime, Manten had levered out the huge butcher knife out of the wooden platform and was getting ready to strike it upon the strange girl.

"Aiiiie!" The girl shrieked and with a sudden movement the butcher knife swung down hard. Sakura closed her eyes and turned, but to her relief she found that the girl hadn't been killed.

"Wha…what are you doing?!" the girl screamed as Hiten crossed his arms, annoyed by the fact that he had to put up with this kind of situation. Manten leered at the girl with his beady eyes and as they spoke, Hiten quietly dragged Sakura outside to the hall.

"Yeah?" Sakura whispered. "What is it?"

Hiten took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling for a while before he spoke. He seemed quite obligated to say what he was trying to blurt out.

"Sakura, Manten and I might be going off to a major battle…" he said. "And you'll have to stay home for a couple of days at the max."

"What?"

"You're…not coming, that's all. Don't worry, it won't be that long."

Sakura seemed taken aback at what he had just said. Of course, it was rare for Hiten to ever take her into a middle of a battlefield. But this time, it was just a human girl that they were using. The opponent couldn't possibly be that big, could it?

"If you kill me, you'll never get your hands on the shards of the jewel!"

"What?!" Manten bellowed as Hiten's crimson eyes flashed. The thunder demon slowly walked into the room and sat himself down next to the girl.

"Girl…is this a lie?" Hiten demanded, arms tightly crossed.

"Of course not!" the girl said dreamily. "If you bring me to Inu Yasha, he shall hand over those shikon fragments for my sake without a fight. We are lovers, you know."

'That girl…' Sakura thought, leering at the unsuspecting stranger whom she had just pitied a moment ago. 'She's lying. I can see it in her eyes…'

"An-chan…" Manten said. "Surely this girl is lying…"

Hiten merely smirked and stood up, his mind set to believe the young girl. Sakura felt her senses go out of control suddenly. Something in the back of her mind told her that the thunder brothers shouldn't be getting involved into this situation. After all, what were a couple of shards compared to their lives?

"No!" Sakura yelled and made a mad dash into the room. "Hiten! You can't go!"

Trying to keep a cold and stern face in front of his opponent, Hiten gave Sakura an icy stare. At least in the eyes of the other girl he wished she wouldn't get a clue.

"Hiten, she's lying!" Sakura told him as the girl in the short skirt seemed taken aback, almost seeming afraid that she might be given away. "Can't you tell? This girl is lying! I agree with Manten entirely for once!"

"If she's lying, then I'll kill her when I do find out."

"But it might be too late for that! Please, listen to me!"

"For once I'd take the chance of not listening, Sakura." Hiten said to the dumbstruck girl. "I'm sorry."

Sakura sat there dazed as Hiten stepped up to the girl and pulled her up by her collar of her shirt. The girl winced as though expecting a whack across the head or what not, but Hiten shot her a devious look.

"You must know that if you have defied me," Hiten threatened, "Your beautiful face will soon find a bloody hole through it as well. Understood?"

The girl didn't say anything but seemed to give Hiten a slight nod. He let go of the girl's collar, jumped down from the table and headed out of the room. Manten followed suit, but not after throwing Sakura a sympathetic 'I-know-how-you-feel' look.

"Don't worry, just wait here." Manten said. "We'll promise we'll be back."

"And I'll take care of your laundry, right?" Sakura sniffled. "I'll be able to wash the bloodstains off and hang them up on the tree to dry, right?"

"On the pine tree." Manten assured her. "We promise we'll be safe."

Sakura nodded her head. Seeing that the strange girl was standing up, Sakura walked over to her.

"You aren't lying, are you…?"

"What?" The young girl seemed taken aback by an abrupt question. "What…do you mean?"

"I want to know if you're lying." Sakura said, sheathing her sword. "If you are, then I'll put matters into my own hands."

Sakura reorganized her thoughts. She couldn't let this happen. She wanted to protect Hiten, but not with having to see blood from it. She couldn't kill this girl…not after knowing that this girl was in the same situation that she was in and tried everything to survive.

"I…I'm not lying, I s…swear…" she said. "Why would I lie?"

"Hmm." Sakura said, trying to keep her cool. "What's your name?"

"It's Kagome." She said, extending a hand. "Kagome Higurashi. Yours?"

"It's Sakura." She muttered and put her sword away. "And I don't take hands. You'd better go with them now."

* * *

After she heard the girl leave the house, Sakura couldn't hold it in. She dashed down the corridors and flung open the doors where Hiten was getting ready to take off into the skies. 

"Hiten!" She called out desperately. He turned around and saw that she had flung herself into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. She was shaking and crying at the same time.

"Must…you leave?" she said. "After Manten and I feel you two shouldn't be going?"

Hiten looked grim. When she had asked him this, he thought; it's just an opponent that they're going to face, so why is she so upset? It wasn't like they never went to battle.

"Sakura, I promise you I'll be back." Hiten assured her as he handed her a small leather bag into her palm. "I swear on my life I'll come back alive for you. Don't worry…"

How she wished that what he said would be true. After watching the three; Hiten, Manten and Kagome; take off, Sakura opened the bag and unravelled the string. She gasped when she saw what was in it.

* * *

_I know what you're thinking..."**What's in the bag?!" **_

_Well, **NYA** to you, you guys will have to find out by reading the next chapter. Lol! _

_By the way...It would be nice if some of you reviewed my story...My standard goal for now is 100 reviews, so remember...ten seconds that will take you guys to review could be ten minutes for me gazing into the screen, smiling like an idiot when I find how much people like this story. Not to mention how much of a boost it could give me...So hit the button! _

_By the way...is this story kinda going fast for you guys? _


	17. Running to the battlefield

**(Running to the battlefield)**

_'He can handle this on his own. After all…he is a demon. His demon blood that runs through his veins wouldn't allow him to be defeated off that easily._

_…But why…_

_Why do I get the feeling that something's not right?_

_Why do I get the knotting, twisting and turning feeling that's telling me that I shouldn't have let him leave?_

_Why did he give me…this?_

_Does it mean something? Is it a sign…of…farewell?_

_Or is it a sign…of…dependency?'_

* * *

The fragment of the shikon jewel glistened in her hand. The shikon shard that Hiten had taken from her when she was kidnapped, when she was considered no more than a captive to the thunder brothers. Furiously Sakura wiped away her tears that rolled down her cheeks. What did the jewel mean? 

_'Sakura, I won't be back…I want you to take care of this for me.'_

_'Sakura, I'm sorry that I ever took it from you. So now I'm giving it back.'_

_'Keep it safe for me until I return. Okay?'_

What did it mean? But then, what mattered now? She tried to swallow the lump in her throat that continuously tried to make its way back up again, to tear apart her fragile heart. The heart that was once so cold, that was never emotional…Hiten had warmed it. She felt so vulnerable to her own spirit now that she realized.

"Couldn't you have just listened to me?!" Sakura yelled out to the rocky cliffs and listened to them echo back. "You stupid bastard!"

Her senses went into a state of a temporary comatose. Breaking down into tears of worry and sorrow, Sakura held the leather pouch and the shikon shard in her hands, brought them up to her chest and cried. The warmth helped her calm down, but this…

It was just too much.

* * *

He could still feel the way that she had grabbed onto him. The way that she had clung to him so desperately, out of concern that he might not return. He had to say that he didn't want to leave, but he felt that he could never forgive himself if he made her vulnerable to any more scars or pain. Sakura, as she had said, had more than enough pain. He didn't want to add on more, but why was she so worried about him? It wasn't like he was never going to come back. 

"Such foolish thoughts…" Hiten muttered under his breath as Kagome and Manten looked at him intensely. Manten twitched nervously while keeping a stern eye upon the young girl.

"An-chan?" Manten spoke up. "I still don't believe we should go to this battle. Something's nagging at me that it's not right."

"Manten…" Hiten sighed. "There are plenty more girls out there for your hair potion, don't worry. This wench isn't the only female around."

"I don't care about hair at the moment, I care about our well-being!"

"We are not going to lose against such an insignificant demon!" Hiten rasped with a hint of threatening. He then turned to Kagome. "This Inu Yasha fellow, he is a half breed…is he not?"

"But he is powerful, you know." Kagome gathered up her will to speak up to this monster of a demon. "He has slain many…"

"I don't give a rat's backside whether he killed one or one thousand demons, girl." He glared as he hovered in the air. "Exactly how many shards of the jewel does this hybrid possess?"

Kagome felt her spine freeze. Desperately wishing that Inu Yasha would be able to play along with her little mini-play/drama, she held up three fingers.

"Three?" Hiten abruptly stopped in the air. "He has only three, girl?" Hiten's eyes suddenly went a glowing luminous blue, and Manten shrunk back. Kagome quickly shook her head side to side violently.

"No, he…he has…three…three quarters of it!" She stammered as a drop of sweat ran down the side of her face. Manten eyed her suspiciously, but soon let the subject drop after deciding that the subject was too hardening.

"So…do you plan to mate Sakura again, an-chan?" Manten asked.

Bad question to ask him, he thought right after the words came tumbling out of his mouth. Indeed he was right; Hiten stopped again and pointed the Thunder pike to Manten's throat.

"What…the hell did you just say?" Hiten growled; Half out of anger that this strange girl would find out about his weak point, and the other half out of annoyance that Manten would dare to ask such a thing. Manten had been there when they had found out that she was pregnant, and that when the child died.

"I think you're hiding something, Manten." Hiten boomed. "Don't you weasel your way out on this one, because I'll force it out of you if I must."

"I'm sorry, an-chan!" Manten blurted out. "I knew that Namie was planning something, but I couldn't tell you because I thought you would be cross with me, and then I planned to tell you after the child died but I still couldn't!"

"……what?"

* * *

Sakura fell for what she counted as the eighth time. Or was it the seventh? She had lost track way back when, but despite all that she kept yelling at her muscles to run faster. Hiten had told her that he would be at the battlefield. 

Not that he had told her in particular, just to Manten. But it wasn't her fault for having a good sense of hearing, was it?

Her bag was slung across her back. The sword, the moth-eaten top and the leather pouch with the shikon shard in it were her only possessions now. Even she didn't know what her moth-eaten top was going to be good for during a battle, but it had seemed like a great idea to her at the time. Now she wondered why. Her feet were already bleeding, the path that she had run left a wet trail of crimson blood. The colour of her beloved thunder demon's eyes.

She eyed the village as she made it over the rocky cliffs. Just walk past the village, cross the river and she'd get there in good time. Already she saw the dark clouds piling up over the battle arena, and figured that the fighting had already started. She knew that Hiten had a good chance of winning. After all, he could fly. And he had the demon blade Raigekijin.

…But you never knew.

Stepping into the village, Sakura desperately wished that the villagers wouldn't ask her about herself. Taking quick steps she made it near some houses, and of course; had the temptation tugging at her to rest awhile. She couldn't do that. After all, no one even seemed to be here at the moment. It seemed like an abnadoned town, and she doubted that anyone lived here.

But she had to move on.

One moment that she wasted could cost Hiten his limb. His well-being. Even his life, not to mention Manten.

Just as she was about to make her way across the other side of the village, an arrow whizzed by her cheek, giving her a tingling sensation that soon converted itself to unbearable pain.

"Stop, demon!"a youthful female voice rang out from behind her.

Sakura looked behind her shoulder and saw that it was a priestess, who still held onto her bow firmly. She eyed Sakura with great suspicion, herlong black locks hanging over her shoulders.She wore a red and white miko outfit, her hair ties up into a high ponytail.

"You must be a demon." She cried out. "Are you not?"

Sakura was taken aback by the priestess' demand. Her? A demon?

"I'm a human, justlike you!" Sakura yelled desperately, looking to the battlefield as if she expected a howl of pain or a thick flash of lightening or what not. "I'm not a…"

"Shut your mouth, demon, and give no excuses!" she yelled as she pulled out another arrow. "I can sense your demon aura so much, it disgusts me. You may have fooled many others. But don't even try to escape from me!"

What to do? This priestess, wether she seemed to be a mad person or not, was clearly thinking an absurd thought that she was a demon. She would have loved to tell the misunderstanding woman about her identity, but this wasn't the time. Figuring that she was at the wrong place at the wrong time, Sakura decided to tell the priestess later about herself so she wouldn't have doubts.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to get to someone fast right now!" Sakura yelled and dashed away from the priestess. "I'm sorry!"

"Stop! Stop, demon!" She heard the priestess cry out.

What was she talking about? She surely wasn't a demon! Couldn't she sense even that? Just then, an idea sprang to her head.

Unless…it was because…she was always around Hiten. Hiten was a demon…it must have been his demonic aura that brushed off her, or something of the sort. Maybe that was why the priestess was misunderstanding.

But of course, this was no time to stop and explain. Hiten was in great trouble or could be. Manten could already have been hurt, vulnerable to death.

Sakura looked round to see if the priestess was still chasing her or not. As soon as she turned, she felt a thud in her stomach followed by a series of unbearable pain.

More pain that she had ever felt in her life was working its way through her senses.

More blood that she had ever seen in her life was pouring out of her stomach.

'A dagger…' Sakura thought as she looked down at the source of her pain. 'Damn...it…damn it to the seven hells…'

"You will surely die, demon." The priestess said calmly, looking above her with an eyeful of pity. Sakura sniffed. She didn't want pity at the moment, but shecouldn't deny the fact that this priestess, in fact, was."I do not wish to end your life with a blow of my sword. Therefore…I will leave you to die a painful death."

* * *

_Heh…me? Die?_

_I don't think so._

_I have someone waiting for me, someone that might need my help._

_I can't die now. Not this easily._

_Just to think about the fact that I couldn't do anything for him…kills me even more._

_I can't die without doing something for him._

_I can't die…without seeing his face…just one more time…_

_Just…one…more…time…

* * *

_

**I love climaxes, don't you? I wasn't going to tell you what happened, but since I was being such a (cough) meanie in the last chapter, I think I'll just say it...**

_**Hopefully you guys are following the story, right? Sakura's trying to get to the battlefield on foot and she has to cross a village in order to get there. The priestess there thinks that she's a demon because of her 'demon aura' that brushed off her while she was with Hiten all the time. The priestess throws a dagger at her stomach, but then feels pity and says that she's going to (stupid biatch!) leave her there to die. **_

_Ha...this makes the story so much shorter. But the only reason I put this thing up was because my cousin couldn't follow the storyline and said she was confused. Figuring that my cousin might not be the only one (since this chapter was so complex...for me, anyways...) confused, so heh...well?_

_**Oh yeah. By the way,Sakura didn't take the dagger out.** _


	18. Yet another loss

**(Yet another loss)**

The heat was intense, not to mention the actual intensity of the battle. Well, maybe for Inu Yasha, that was. The wiped out half demon was panting on his knees, clutched his bloody wound; and seemed to be defying the fact that he was almost at his nerve's edge. Hiten looked back at his brother who was now strangling the life out of the female who had, in fact, deceived them both.

_'Sakura was right…'_ Manten thought to himself as he looked into the eyes of the girl who had lied. _'I was right…Sakura was right…this little imbecile of a girl did trick us.'_

"Look here, Manten!" Hiten yelled to him suddenly with a wide smirk on his face. "Our hybrid friend seems to have lost his will to rebel!"

"Heh!" Manten said, coming to. "What more of a lovelier sight is there than the face of a dying female?"

Kagome lay on her back; the only source of air that she had was tiny wisps of it through the small opening through her opened mouth. That didn't do much to help, and the fact that Shippo had lunged towards Manten's thick neck didn't do much to help, either.

"My, you think that you will be able to rescue your saviour?" Manten bellowed as he saw the small fox demon's fangs sink into his flesh. "If you don't let go, I will be more than pleased to twist off your head!"

As he watched the younger thunder demon bash Shippo's head and strangle Kagome at the same time, the silver haired hybrid glared at the older thunder demon with boiling anger.

"I'm not exactly a very nice person myself…" Inu Yasha spat. "But such swine like you disgust me! Blades of blood!"

As he brought out a blood smeared hand, the half demon lunged and swiped at Hiten. He merely smirked and blocked every attack that came to him with the blade of the thunder pike. The Raigekijin was now heavily smeared with warm, slick blood from the opponent, and Hiten found that it could do more than be used only for hurling attacks against Inu Yasha. Very much entertained, Hiten laughed out loud.

"Much better!" He yelled. "Now rebel some more like now!"

Taking the chance that those in the heavens had seemed to create, Inu Yasha dove forward and grabbed his Tetsusaiga. Jumping high in the air, he thrust it towards what Hiten thought to be towards himself. Seeing that the half demon had missed by a mile, Hiten jeered.

"What kind of a stupid aim is that?"

"It's perfect, that's what!"

* * *

She was almost there. Huffing as she strained herself from collapsing and giving up, Sakura powered her spirit and went on. She was almost at the end of the rocky hill where the battle was going on. Grabbing the side of the rock, she heaved herself up with all her might. She couldn't see Manten, Kagome or the little fox demon that Manten had been talking about. 

Over the skies she could see Hiten hovering above with the aid of his fire wheels, looking petrified. Below him was the opponent, it seemed like. Flowing silver hair, golden orbs, claws covered in blood…this demon surely didn't seem like a weak one at all.

Sakura felt her heart drop and felt that something was seriously wrong amidst the battle.

* * *

"Manten!!!" Hiten screamed at the top of his lungs, flying top speed towards his suffering brother. 

"You fools, get away from there!!!" Hiten could hear the hybrid screaming also. But it was merely a squeak to him. The hybrid didn't matter right now, nor did the hybrid's damn friends. What mattered now was Manten.

His brother. His brother who had stuck by him for onlyhell knows how long.

Manten…who had always been there for him.

"Move!" Hiten yelled and emitted a series of blasts towards the unconscious fox demon and Kagome. Not caring whether he killed them or not, Hiten threw his Raigekijin aside and fell on his knees before Manten.

"Manten…you idiot…you can't die now!" he cried; tears streaming down his face. Manten looked up with half opened eyes and saw his an-chan crying. Smirking, he struggled to say his last word.

"I'm sorry…" Manten rasped. "I must admit…I was always jealous of you. You had everything…my one wish was to have hair if I couldn't get father's looks. I thought…after I die, I could reincarnate as a fuzzy caterpillar with a lot of hair…"

"I don't care whether you have hair or not!" Hiten said. "I love every last bald inch of you and you know that!"

"Heh…but who am I to…to complain?" Manten said. "Just as long…as I can be your younger brother again, I'm happy…I should…should be grateful…"

"Manten…no…damnit! Don't die!" Hiten burst out crying as Manten's body went cold and limp, all the warmth from his body drained into nothingness.

"I promise you, brother…I shall avenge…" Hiten whispered in a shaking voice and plunged his hand straight into his younger brother's corpse. Ripping out the heart, veins and blood and all, Hiten savagely tore away at it with his teeth as his opponets looked on with a look of disgust and horror.

The feeling…the insanity slowly taking over him was spreading like Manten's blood was on the rocky ground.

Seeping in between the rocks, concentrating the dirt with the redness.

It was more than a feeling that he felt that he had to win.

It was a feeling that he had to win, avenge Manten's death and get back to Sakura.

He knew that Manten had promised Sakura many times that he would return alive and healthy.

Heh…right.

If Manten wouldn't be able to keep his promise, then he might as well keep it for him. That dirty hybrid ruined everything. It was then he realized that he should have listened to Manten and Sakura. The lies, the hoax that the girl had made up were true. Wiping off the last of Manten's blood from his lips, Hiten stood up, using the Raigekijin to help him keep his balance.

"You slaughtered my brother…I shall not let this pass!" he growled as thick flashes of lightening hit the surface of the rocky grounds. The dominant thunder seemed to know his state of pain, and Hiten flew towards the half demon and created a sphere of lightening and thrust it towards the direction of the half demon.

* * *

Gathering the last ounce of strength that she could muster, Sakura let out a grunt and fell as she made her way over the rocky hill and onto the battlefield. Hiten was looking baffled; and angered at a huge canyon that the opponent seemed to have created while defending himself. 

Hiten was safe. He didn't even appear to have a scratch on him.

Manten…where was Manten?

She looked around, her short black hair twirling as she did so. There, in the corner of the battlefield, Manten lay down on his back.

"Manten!" Sakura cried in a hoarse voice. She crawled over to his huge body, and broke down in the presence of his lifeless being.

His cold, lifeless body. He seemed to have been killed off already, and in such a brutal way. A huge slit was there;to his chest down to his stomach, and a faint drool of blood trickled down the side of his mouth slowly.

_"Don't worry, just wait here. We promise we'll be back."_

_"And I'll take care of your laundry, right? I'll be able to wash off the bloodstains and hang them up on the tree to dry, right?"_

_"On the pine tree. We promise we'll be safe."_

'Liar…' Sakura thought as she placed a hand on the huge wound in the thunder demon's chest. A faint barrier of salty tears made its way through her eyes. 'You lied…you said you'd be back…you said you'd be safe. You said I'd be able to hang up your laundry...you liar…'

How she wished that she could see Manten so lively and happy again. But she knew that was no more. His life force had been ripped from him. It was all because…of that half demon. The opponent that Hiten had not even taken seriously.

The battle that determined either life or death…the next round…was about to begin.

* * *

_(Looks up) Haha! I'm almost at my goal! 40 reviews away, LOL! Can you people tell me if this story's going to fast for you or no?_

_Oh yeah, and don't worry...both of them aren't going to die. But I have been thnking and maybe...**Ah crap...why do I love to give things away!?** (Heh...like I've ever given them away anyway....) Bye bye!_

_**(Bounces away)**_


	19. Fight without flight

**(Fight without flight)**

"What should we do, Shippo?" Kagome cried out. "Inu Yasha's powerful, but with Hiten and his fire wheels he doesn't stand a chance!"

Shippo pondered as he stared at his father's pelt, all that was left of him. Running his small fingers over the sewn lines, he wondered if Manten had sewn in back up together, but then he doubted it.

"Of course!" Kagome yelled out. "I can knock out his wheels with my archery!" frantically she looked around for an arrow. It was in the range of her hand, and she grabbed it quickly. Wasting no time, she looked around for her bow…but realized that she had lost it a long time ago. Back in the field where she had first been discovered by Manten.

"Damn…my bow, I should have kept that with me…" Kagome muttered in complete disbelief. Just then, Shippo took out a green leaf from his chest pocket and placed it on his head.

"Shippo, what are you…"

"I'll help you." Shippo said, wiping away a tear as he gazed at his father's pelt. "After all, if I don't repay the deed you have done for me, father will be very cross."

* * *

_Well, this is it._

_I've borrowed Manten's powers and absorbed them into my own._

_That hybrid…ripped away that was everything to me._

_Heh, as if I didn't already lose a lot already._

_But this time, I'll win._

_That half breed…doesn't stand a chance._

Hiten was at his wit's end. Not only did this half breed find out how to get past his lightening attacks, he was beginning to run from him. At the moment the best thing to do seemed to be to chase after him, as a tiger chases after a rabbit, as a hawk chases after a sparrow.

"Hah! You have nowhere to go anymore but to surrender to your death!" Hiten cried out. Sakura watched on in horror. Even though she knew that Hiten would probably win, she couldn't get the pain out of her gut. And it wasn't because of the dagger that was buried deep within her stomach. Hiten seemed like a mad person, like one of those rounins who loved to kill, who loved to shed blood. Who chased after their victim until they killed them.

Just then out of nowhere, an arrow whizzed by Hiten's ankle and shattered his wheel to pieces.

"Damn!" Hiten cried out. Taking this chance, Inu Yasha grasped onto the hilt of the Raigekijin's blade and gripped firmly.

"Ah, so you prefer to be toasted into a crisp, do you?!" Hiten's angered voice rang throughout the battlefield and he sent huge volts of energy through to the thunder pike, giving the half demon extreme pain.

"No…" Sakura rasped in horror. She looked around for the girl who had probably shot it, and gathering up her strength once again; ran over to where she was. When the girl saw that she was there, she put on a look of disbelief and shock.

* * *

"Hello, Kagome." Sakura hissed. "Did you miss me?" 

"Hey, who are you?" The little fox demon squealed. "Are you on the side of the thunder brothers?"

"……I should say I am." Sakura said simply as she glared back down at Kagome. "You said that you weren't lying. I knew you were, and hoped that you wouldn't get in the way of the battle."

"But…I'm on Inu Yasha's side, and he's losing!" Kagome yelled back. "I must do something, right? If Hiten were to be in trouble, you would help him, right?"

This took Sakura back. As she took a step backwards, she felt the pain in her gut take over and she fell to the ground with a thud.

"Sakura!" Kagome yelled and ran to aid her. Sakura sat up and glared at the girl, hoping that she would move away. In fact, she didn't. The young fox demon ran by her side and ran his hands over the handle of the blade.

"Can't we take it out?" Shippo asked as Kagome looked at the dagger in concern. She shook her head side to side.

"No, Shippo." Kagome said. "The wound is almost healed around the blade, and I assume the only way that we can take it out is to get it taken out by a doctor."

"But…we can't just take it out?"

Kagome shook her head once again. "**Shippo, if we take this out…her artery will burst and she'll die of losing blood.**" Kagome looked up at the doubtful girl. "So don't take this out, no matter what. I know a good doctor in the place that I stay sometimes, so I'll take you there."

"I don't need your help." Sakura spat. Just then, she froze as she saw Hiten get punched in the face. "Hiten!!"

* * *

The thunder demon skidded straight across before he came to an abrupt stop at a huge boulder. His head bashed against the hard surface, and as he lay there in half pain, he heard his name. 

"Hiten! Oh my god, Hiten!!" the frail voice rang out.

'That…sounds a lot…like someone I know…' he thought to himself as he lifted himself out of the rubble. He stared at the hybrid with his red eyes and smirked, but stopped when he felt a lump in his throat. Coughing it out, he saw that it was blood.

"I have never been struck in the face…in all my life." Hiten yelled in spite of his humiliation. "And I refuse to let it happen again!"

With all his might, Hiten swung down his Raigekijin at the source of his sorrow. Inu Yasha. As the hybrid desperately tried to block the pressure with a single demon scabbard, Hiten grit his teeth.

He was determined to kill the half breed. He didn't want to finish him off in a matter of seconds. He wanted to enjoy this opponent's death more than any other. How pleasing it would be to see the half breed's body tattered into pieces, to see the red liquid gushing out like a waterfall.

Just then, he turned his head slightly and saw two figures running towards his brother's corpse. How dare they, he thought. How dare they.

With a sudden outburst of anger, Hiten collected energy into his mouth while at the same time pressured Inu Yasha with more lightening powers.

"Look out!!!" The hybrid screamed just as soon as he let a shower of burning energy let go. It headed straight towards the two, both the girl and the fox tyke. How he hoped they'd die a miserable death.

"Hah!" Hiten yelled in triumph. "A toast to you!"

"Kagome…Shippo!" Inu Yasha screamed in a state of utter disbelief. "Kagome!!! Shippo!!!"

"You have wise friends, Inu Yasha." Hiten laughed. "They prove my point that anyone who dares to get in my way meets up with death!"

* * *

Sakura quickly half ran, half tripped over to the two, hoping that they hadn't died…yet. Even though they were enemies, she couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Hiten…he didn't really kill them, did he?

After all, the girl could have easily killed her off for all she knew. She was the one with more scars and more pain. All Kagome had to do was remove the dagger and she'd probably have been lying on the ground dying. But Kagome decided not to, whether it was out of fear or pity.

"Kagome…Shippo!" Sakura yelled amidst the thunderous battle. They probably hadn't even noticed her by now, she thought. Just then, she saw a faint blue luminous glow around Kagome and the small fox demon.

"Are you guys alive?" Sakura questioned. "You guys aren't harmed?"

"No, we're not." Kagome said as Shippo gazed at the blue glow form into a fox's shape and ascend into the heavens. "I think Shippo's father saved us. He cares for us."

Sakura gave them a weak smile and watched the glow grow fainter and then disappear. Hopefully there was somebody up there, such as her brother…who cared for her as well.

Just then, she felt the ground pulse hard. Then pulsed again. It was a faint one, but she could still feel it underneath her feet and knees. She turned her head just in time to see Inu Yasha with the Tetsusaiga in hand. Hiten's forehead was seriously bruised as if he had been knocked out there also.

"Tetsusaiga!!!" Inu Yasha yelled out as Kagome and Shippo ran forward, looking as if they were going to stop him.

Hiten was going to die. Her small thought of hope that he might have been able to win was washed away. Sakura had to do something. Hiten was going to get struck in the head. No demon nor human that she had ever known had survived a blow to the head.

_Heh…me? Die?_ _I don't think so._

_I have someone waiting for me, someone that might need my help._

_I can't die now. Not this easily ._

_Just to think about the fact that I couldn't do anything for him…kills me even more._

_I can't die without doing something for him._

I can't die without…doing something for him.

Just can't die…

Without doing something…

For him…

For him……

Sakura made up her mind. It was surprising to her how fast her reflexes were when they came into hardcore situations. Everything happened so quickly in a matter of moments. Hiten grabbed onto his Raigekijin as it was his dear life, knowing that he would die. The wooden handle of the Raigekijin surely couldn't stand a chance against another demon blade.

Inu Yasha swung with all his might, but then felt something sharp cut across his right wrist and missed Hiten's head. Instead, it cut the thunder pike in half and cut deep into his right shoulder, causing him to fall and cry out in pain.

Kagome and Shippo screamed in horror as Hiten and Inu Yasha both collapsed out of pain onto the battlefield. Inu Yasha's wrist, as well as his injuries must have built up. Hiten? The only injuries that he had gotten was the punch, the heatbutt and the gash in the shoulder. But the main reason that they had screamed was because of what Sakura had done to prevent everything.

'Heh…' Sakura thought as she crumpled to the floor. 'I was able to do something for him…after all…'

* * *

_Um...you'll probably know what happened. If not, read the next chapter. (sobs) And LWD, don't kill me, I have a good reason for why this happened; as you probably already know what happened. If not, well...no comment. Just wait for the update._

_I'm thinking, after I edit the whole story after I'm finished (You know, after I proofread and go over it and stuff like that...) I should make a sequel. I was thinking of a happy ending for this story, but #1, this is angst...and #2, the story wouldn't be considered 'finished' to me. So therefore, I have been thinking of making a sequel to 'Ice cold soul.' _

_What do you guys think? R&R! Well, it's only the second part of the R...since you've probably already read it anyways. All you guys need to do is to do what the second R stands for...REVIEW! LOL...._


	20. You've done enough

**(You've done enough)**

Everything happened so quickly. Kagome looked on and opened her eyes after what seemed like the longest silence ever. Ever. The only sound that she could hear was the sound of thunder and lightening in the background, booming in all its deadly glory. She gasped and brought her hand up to her chest.

Inu Yasha was on his knees, sweating a great deal and clutched his wounded wrist and chest. His Tetsusaiga was knocked out and back to its old, rusty figure and lay about three feet behind him.

Hiten was on his back huffing as he struggled to get back up. He couldn't use his right arm apparently, and tried to sustain himself so desperately with his left arm. Blood trickled down his mouth and the side of his forehead where Inu Yasha had pummeled into him. The Raigekijin was sliced neatly in half and yet splinters and wood chips lay everywhere. The blade was covered in Inu Yasha's blood, so slick and blood red.

Sakura…she was merely smirking on her knees despite the fact the ground below her was sprayed in her own redness. She was shaking hard and seemed to be losing a lot of blood. Kagome gasped and looked towards Inu Yasha. He was pulling a dagger out of his wrist, wincing as he did so. He then turned to complain. Finding that the schoolgirl and Shippo were both alive and hopefully safe, he sighed out of relief but grimaced in pain.

"Who the hell threw this?!" he yelled towards Kagome. His eyes then landed on the smirking girl who was on her knees. He stood up weakly and wobbled over to Sakura. "Who the hell are you?" he asked demandingly, upset that this girl had taken away his only chance of victory.

"Get…away…" Inu Yasha heard Hiten groan weakly behind him. He turned and looked down to see that Hiten was grasping onto his ankle so tightly with a hint of threatening in his voice. "Don't you touch her, you filthy half breed…"

"Keh, you sounded just like me a while ago, Hiten." Inu Yasha spat. "But I guess you didn't listen to me…why should I listen to you?"

"Sit boy!!" Kagome screamed out of anger as the half demon fell face flat onto the ground. "How could you, Inu Yasha? I'm safe, and you're alive! Why are you trying to kill this girl?"

After a while, Inu Yasha got up tiredly and said, "I'm not trying to kill her, stupid! I'm trying to question her motives!"  
"But she's hurt, Inu Yasha!"

"So what?" Sakura heard the half demon sneer. "The better to get the jewel shards!"

"How can you be so cold?"

"But if we don't take the shards from them now, then we'll never get the completed jewel!" he complained. "We'll have to remove every obstacle, Kagome. Of course I feel sorry for this girl, but I can't let anyone get in my way and you know that! We'll run into them again one day anyway! It's now or then, and I chose now!"

Hiten breathed heavily, clutching his shoulder wound. The bickering noises were merely a series of low monotone buzzing sounds to his ear. He stared at Sakura for a moment, watching her hang onto her life by the passing time.

"You…bitch…" Hiten muttered and dragged his body over to hers. "Sakura…you bitch…I thought I told you to stay back at the lair."

"I couldn't, Hiten…" she said. "I had a bad feeling…if I hadn't done that, then you'd probably have died by now…"

By this time, Kagome knew that they had to depart. She wanted to help them, but looking at the situation that they were in she knew that was out of the question. Looking at the two with a sympathetic look, then up at the grey sky, she nudged Inu Yasha to come with her back to Kaede's village.

"But Kagome…" he whined.

"Inu Yasha…" Kagome said sternly yet softly, picking up a very tired Shippo into her arms. "Is this really the way you want it to be?"

Inu Yasha said nothing. He sighed and took Shippo from Kagome's arms.

"What are you waiting for?" he muttered. "Let's go."

* * *

It took him about forever to carry her back to the lair. Even though Sakura was a very light person, with his injuries on top of it all it seemed almost impossible to carry her up back to the house. But somehow, he managed; but not while wincing at his own injuries once in a while. Hiten felt the raindrops pattering upon him the whole trip and he mourned at the fact that his fire wheels had been destroyed.

It was raining.

Today of all days. Great, he thought. Just perfect.

In the crook of his arm laid the Raigekijin, the proud demon blade. He doubted that he wouldn't be able to fix it. All he probably had to do was bring it to a demon blacksmith. But the problem was Sakura right now. She seemed to be in great pain, and even if she didn't say it herself Hiten could see the pain in her eyes. Blood gushed out from her lower stomach slowly as she moaned in burning agony, but through all that she managed to pull a smile at him.

"Was…I being stupid, Hiten?" Sakura questioned. "You may think so…but I don't think what I did was dumb."

"I could have done him off myself." Hiten muttered, knowing that he was wrong. If she hadn't done anything, if she hadn't come, then Hiten knew that he would have died by now.

"Heh…and you thought that making me stay at the lair was a bad idea." Sakura said. She closed her eyes and let her head rest against his shoulder. After what seemed like an eternity, Hiten put Sakura down upon the floorbed and let her rest for awhile. He tried hard to stand up, but his injuries wouldn't let him do so easily. He gazed at his wasted Raigekijin and sighed deeply before trying to stand up, only to find himself fall back down again.

"Shit…" he hissed and removed his bloodstained shirt.His tatteredarmour lay in a heap in the corner of the room, and Hiten threw his shirt by the pile also. Reaching into the small medicine drawer, Hiten pulled out a handful of spices and bandages. Helping Sakura to sit up, he silently shed a tear.

"Are you crying?" Sakura whispered as she lifted her shirt halfway up to reveal a deep wound. Hiten stared at it in great sadness. The wound was too deep, the blood loss too quick. Knowing he had no time to lose, he applied the spices with great care and started to wrap the linens around Sakura's stomach. He still tried to deny that he was shedding a tear.

"I'm not crying…" Hiten muttered, wiping away yet another drop of the salty substance.

"I know." Sakura said, and sat back against the wall as he cut off a loose piece of the cloth and pulled her shirt back down. "I remember you did this for me once a few months ago."

"I remember." Hiten said and looked at the Raigekijin. "That wooden handle idea turned out to be bad, eh?"

"I'm sure you'll be able to fix it. Don't worry." Sakura then looked outside the small window. How softly the rain pattered against the strong structure, and how soothing the sound was. Music to the ears was what it seemed to be.

"Hiten?" Sakura whispered weakly.

"Yes?" Hiten said, pushing the medicine box away and sitting close to her.

"…dead…"

"What?"

"Manten's dead..." Sakura whispered on the verge of tears. "He promised me he'd be back. He promised me he'd be back. Stupid…liar…" she whispered, leaning her head weakly against Hiten's bare shoulder. She raised a hand and put it on his ghastly wound. Taken aback by the sudden chill from Sakura's ice cold hand, Hiten jerked back into the wall, wincing in unbearable pain.

"I'm cold, aren't I…?" Sakura smirked. "I'm getting colder."

"No you're not." Hiten said, trying not to give away the fact that he was panicking. "You can't be getting cold. It's…just…I'll bring some more blankets…"

Sakura grasped his wrist as he was about to get up and gave him a small smile.

"Hiten…you know." She said. "Don't try so hard to hide it."

"But…"

"I'm dying, Hiten." Sakura said and gave a small sniffle. "And I don't want you leaving my side, even if it is for one moment…the last thing I want to see when I die is you, and the last person's arms I want to be in is you."

"I'll always be there…" Hiten whispered and hugged Sakura close to his warm body. He clenched his teeth and tried hard not to react at how quickly her body was losing heat. But for now, he did what she wished for him to do. To just stay by her side.

* * *

_....I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this chapter....because I was trying to upload the Ayame poem I got kinda delayed....then my computer went woohoo, so I had to delay this chapter a bit. But alas, I know you guys will be patient (hopefully) and kind enough to understand....I have this huge geo project and I had to work on that too. LOL....ah well. R&R!_


	21. You can live

**(You can live)**

The overly bright sunlight that shone through the window of the room slowly made its way up the thunder demon's eyes. Wincing in pain, Hiten opened his eyes; just to be hit in the eyes with bright light. He restrained himself from moving, for Sakura still seemed to be sleeping against his chest. Laying her down on the floor, he quietly left the room to see if he could grab something to eat for Sakura. He couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten. Was it before or after the battle? He didn't really give a damn.

'If Manten were alive…' He thought.

Yes…if Manten had been alive, he would have been cooking this moment. Probably something that only fit his sense of taste and neither his nor Sakura's. Probably something like leek patties or marinated pork that was bloody raw. Then he would have been staring at the meal in disbelief while Manten smiled like an idiot.

"What the hell is this?" he would have said. Manten would have insisted that it was food, and that he shouldn't be so picky in his eating.

"You've always been a picky eater, Hiten." Manten's voice rang out in the back of his head. "Learn to accept different things."

Looking at the empty, lifeless kitchen, Hiten stared into nothingness. He lost everything.

He truly lost everything.

And now the last person that he had in his life would be lost from him.

Forever. Forever and ever and ever.

They said that once you lost everything, you'd be appreciative for the last thing that you ever had left. Sakura had lost everything. And to her, living with him may have been the last thing left that was important to her.

Dozens of voices and flashbacks played back deep down into his life.

_'Hiten! As the firstborn male of the family, you will have to carry on my duty. Why do you fool around so clumsily?'_

_'Hiten, don't worry about your father. He's just worried that you might have gotten hurt, playing with the Raigekijin.'_

_'An-chan! Wait for me!'_

_'Please…spare our lives! If not I, then I beg you to spare my children…'_

_'There's another one of them troops that we can have fun with, brother!'_

_'You don't know how I feel, do you!'_

_'An-chan, surely this girl must be deceiving you…'_

_'I have a bad feeling about this, Hiten…don't leave me…'_

_'Who am I to complain? Just as long as I can be your brother again, I'm happy…'_

_'Listen to me, you stupid bastard!'_

_'I'm…I'm grateful…'_

_'I had a bad feeling…if I hadn't, you would have died by now…'_

"Damn it all!" grabbing his head, Hiten cried out. It felt as if something deep down inside was tearing him apart from limb to limb. For once in his life he felt…something that others called guilt.

'Why didn't I just listen?' he thought miserably. 'Then maybe…just maybe…'

The flash of the hybrid's demon sword plunging into his younger brother's heart flashed by his mind once again.

He remembered that as he closed his eyes and grasped onto the Raigekijin as if it was his very flesh and blood; when he knew that he would get sliced in half; Sakura had taken out and thrown the dagger that was blocking her artery.

Her eyes…were flashing with bittersweet pain, her locks flying up as her body followed gravity, the warm liquid sprayed out into different directions.

"No…" he rasped and closed his eyes tight. "Maybe…I'll just go to sleep, and find that I haven't left for the battle yet…"

He ran his hands over his forehead and winced as sharp pain hit him. He brought his hand back down to see that it was covered in dried blood.

"I remember, this was from that damned half breed as his head hit mine…" he muttered and brought his hand back up again to his forehead. He traced the thick outline of the dried blood. Running his finger down, feeling the texture, he felt his finger meet up with something hard.

The shikon jewels. The three that were embedded safely in his forehead.

Just then, an idea sprang into his head. Why didn't he think of it before? If this could heal demons, then it would surely be able to heal humans as well. Forgetting about how he was going to get food, Hiten turned around and stepped into the room breathing heavily. Sakura seemed to have been awake for quite a while, and now she stared at him with surprise.

"Hiten, where…"

"Look, Sakura!" Hiten exclaimed excitedly. "I have a way to make you live!"

And heextracted a shikon shard from his forehead.

"What…?" Sakura stared at him in shock. "Hiten…"

"This shard…it's known for healing demonic injuries. If I put this in your wound, it'll surely be able to heal you!"

Sakura said nothing. All she did was smile slightly. "I see." She whispered. Hiten didn't seem to see her grim expression as he rambled on.

"And…and once you get better, we'll do everything that we had in mind! Like…we can cook together, and we'll just relax…I mean, I promise I won't hunt as much as I did, and if you'd like we could…"

"Have children together." Sakura finished. "Hiten, it all sounds like a dream…"

"I know." Hiten smiled. "So let me…"

He was suddenly taken aback by Sakura's reaction. She lifted a hand to move his away and smiled weakly.

"Don't." she said, leaving Hiten into a state of shock. The shock overcame him and he laughed in disbelief.

"Don't be stupid, I'm sure it'll work…just let me try and…"

"Hiten, don't." Sakura said sternly.

"But Sakura, why?"

"Just…" Sakura whispered. "Don't."

* * *

_Gasp! The shock! But why? You must be thinking. _

_I must admit, I've laid off this fanfic a long time. Haha...please don't kill me, I've just been kinda busy. But now I'll be able to write more, and hopefully I'll be able to finish off this fic and work on my other unfinished works. I've been thinking of finishing off Drowning petals, I haven't even looked into it for God knows how long..._


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